One on One with Jesus

How often do we see Jesus meeting with just one person in the bible?
The woman at the well, Jesus with Satan in the wilderness, the thief on the cross, Nicodemus, who went in the night, secretly (the conversation happens to include the most well known new testament verse, John 3:16 - so much for secrecy!!!). There are many conversations that appear one on one, for example, with Peter and some of the other disciples, but in reality, others are listening, otherwise we would not be privy to these conversations.

Yes, Jesus had some direct personal responses to individuals, lepers, blind men, pharisees, and crippled people, but these messages were in public, with crowds present.

Even the disciples, were mostly as a group with Jesus, he occasionally singled a few out, for example at the transfiguration.

This may have been frustrating to the disciples. Maybe this was part of the reason they sometimes argued over who was the greatest?

I want to suggest that it was difficult to get one on one time with Jesus.

I want to also suggest that when that time comes, that great final day, when Jesus appears, and we also appear with him, that it will be very difficult to get one on one time.

First children get to have one on one time with their parents, unless they are twins. But this time is often short, with the arrival of the next sibling often putting noses out of joint.

At church, I am often hunted for one on one time.
When I am in my office as a GP, I realize that my patients are somewhat spoilt with one on one time with me. They crave it. It's addictive. It can be therapeutic.

But in heaven, I don't think there will be queues of people waiting patiently to have one on one time with Jesus. Or with the Father and the Holy Spirit. And I don't think Jesus is particularly excited by the thought of spending one on one time with any of us. No, not even with Elvis. He has gone to prepare a place for us. Not "us" as in "each single one of us", but "us" as in "all of us".

My understanding of heaven is that it will be communal worship of the most glorious kind.

So if you crave one on one time with Jesus, the only chance you have is right now in personal prayer. (so we'd better get on with it!!)

The other point that relates to this thought is that we will be sharing Jesus with the rest of christendom. This includes the denominations we detest, the people at church we avoid, and every other uncomfortable thought that the Holy Spirit brings.

Yes we really are meant to love one another as Jesus loves us.

And if there is a queue in heaven, the first will be last and the last will be first. Again, Elvis misses out. I am an Elvis fan.