John 1:47

Jesus sees Nathanael walking in his direction.  He looks at him and says, “No doubt, here is a man of Israel without a trace of phoniness!”  John 1:47 EFP
        
Nathanael and Phillip have not even reached him when Jesus makes this assessment of Nathanael, “Here is an Israelite in which there is no deceit!”  He wants him to know that he knows him for his best quality—no guile, and not for his worst quality—prejudice.  It bears saying that this is a courtesy extended Nathanael that he was not at all willing at first to offer to Jesus, the man from the despised town of Nazareth.

This grace-imbued declaration by Jesus towards Nathanael is representative of the God Jesus came into the world to reveal, particularly to a nation overrun with a picture of God tainted with the colors and character of man.  This is the God whose entire experience with humanity has been one of disappointment and disillusionment, from a purely human perspective.  Yet in spite of our enmity as humans towards our Creator, THE LORD defends, protects, fights, and acts in ways outside his character to ensure the future of humanity.  Jesus is deity’s supreme act of self-sacrificing love and devotion.  This blind encounter between Nathanael and Jesus is in a very true sense God’s eternal effort to reach beyond the fog of sin and choosing to see the best in humanity to draw us back to him.

There is a second glimpse into the character of God that ought not to be lost in this God-initiated encounter.  God does not need great deeds or grand talents to be impressed—he longs for genuineness above all.  Being genuine is the opposite of being hypocritical.  A genuine heart has no guile; it is open and inviting.  Above all, a genuine heart is the door God uses to access our lives because it is not guarded by expectations or pretense.  “What you see is what you get” is a quality God longs for all us.  Not for His benefit, since He already knows everything about us, but for our benefit, since we often times only deceive ourselves in the attempt to mask our true selves under the cloak of acceptability.  I am reminded God wants and loves me—not the picture I try to project in order to impress myself.  That’s a waste of time for everyone involved.  I want God to say to me the words spoken of Nathanael when he speaks of me, “Here is a man that is as genuine as they come.”  I still have a way to go.