By Brianna Hines
Is it just me, or have you ever wondered what it would have been like to meet Jesus in the flesh? I know we get to speak with Him in our prayers and experience His presence in our lives, but there is a part of me that longs to know — what would Jesus have thought of me?
Would He have even talked to me? What would have been the tone of His voice? The look in His eyes? What would we have talked about?
I also wonder what I would have thought of Him? Would I have noticed Him immediately? Would I have thought He was a little weird looking? Was He short? Did He have a distinctive smell? Seriously! I’m not kidding! These are the thoughts that surface when I can’t fall asleep at night. I know I can’t be the only one! Haven’t you ever wondered what He was really like? Would I have wanted to hang out with Him? Would I have been one of the people that dropped everything to follow Him, or just someone in the crowd who wanted to hear His teachings or be healed but then walked away to live my life again?
These are the kinds of questions that gave us the idea to write our next study — Encounter. We may never get the opportunity to see Jesus face to face until we get to heaven, but we get to read about a whole bunch of other women who did! We get to see Jesus through their eyes. We get to see the way He noticed them, how He pursued them, the words He spoke to them, and even the ways He challenged them.
For the next seven weeks, we get the chance to see Jesus in a whole different light as we learn from His encounters with 13 Gospel women. Some of these women only interacted with Jesus for a moment, while some, like Mary, knew Him for a lifetime. But all of them got to experience aspects of His character that are still true of Him today and the desires He had for each of them that are desires He has for each of us as well. I cannot wait for us to discover them together as we study God’s Word side by side – modern-day women learning from biblical women about our unchanging, incredible God.
So join me on Thursdays starting April 13 at 9:30 a.m and 6:30 p.m. as we embark on our next Bible study — Encounter: 13 women who got to meet Jesus face to face. I still won’t be able to tell you what Jesus smelled like, but we will be learning a whole host of other things about Him that you may have never thought about before. I hope to see you there! Sign up here to join the study. Childcare will be provided during the morning study.
Brianna Hines, wife to Lewis and mom to four incredible kids, wrote Encounter with Jessie Litchfield and Kathleen Harwood for the women of UFC. Brianna will serve as one of our Thursday teachers. She is involved with the mom’s gathering, women’s ministry, and Sunday morning worship at UFC. She stays rooted in God’s Word through Bible study and writing, and she finds rest through gardening, reading, and walks with her family.