Thursday, June 20, 2013

John 1:50

To which Jesus replies, “You think it’s amazing to hear me say, ‘I saw you under the fig tree’?  You believe in me because of that?  Let me tell you—you haven’t seen anything yet.” John 1:50 EFP
          
There is no doubt that Nathanael’s perspective on life is radically changed by his first encounter with Jesus.  The words spoken to him by the Master shake him to the core.  Here is a Man that knows him before he meets him.  Nathanael’s confession is a powerful moment in the Gospel narrative.

Yet here, Jesus says something even more amazing—in the vernacular, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”  What Nathanael sees and hears on that day will pale in comparison to what he has yet to see in the days to come.  He has no idea the amazing events that await him.  The blind will see.  The lame will walk.  The dead will live again.  Unmitigated joy and unimaginable disappointment lay before him in the months ahead.  And that’s not even the beginning.

I sense sometimes I also settle for the manageable Jesus—one that I can put in my coat pocket or purse and pull out at appropriate moments of special need or surroundings.  I read the stories but they don't always sink in deeply.  I recall the words but they seem to fall like the morning dew while I slumber in the comfort of the indoors—protected and unaffected.  When I arrive, the moisture has evaporated and the grass is parched under my feet.  I am easily impressed because I have not seen anything yet.  I venture to think that God has so much to show me that I have not even considered possible.  I’m getting tired of settling for crumbs when there’s a banquet waiting for me to enjoy and a moment with Jesus longing to amaze me.  No more settling!

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