Devotional Messages

John 14:8-9b, 11 – Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”  Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?  Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. … Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.”  (NRSV)

How do we see God?  It’s a question that has intrigued humanity for generations.  And this story from John implies that even the first disciples, when face to face with Jesus, were asking it.  John portrays Jesus as slightly incredulous at the disciples’ density – he’s right there in front of them – but also as generous in understanding that people have different ways of coming to belief.

We will be returning to the Easter story this Sunday, as we read Luke’s telling of the Emmaus story.  It is only the Sixth (of seven) Sunday of Easter (season) after all!  And this is part of the question we’ll be asking: How do we see God?

In another gospel, Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) that “you will know them by their fruits.”  When the disciples of John the Baptist ask Jesus if he is “the One,” he invites them to consider what they’ve heard and seen him do.  And in this passage from John, he’s saying it again: consider the fruits.  How can the life-giving, healing, reconciling works and wonders that Jesus performed point to anything other than the God of Love?

How do we see God?  When our eyes are opened through the power of love.  When acts of love are performed for us.  When we see others being loved.  When we ourselves are moved by love to serve others.  When has the God of Love been revealed in your life?  As we move toward Sunday, I encourage you to consider the wonders you have seen.

Collect for the Week:  Eternal God, whose love is life, grant that we might live our lives with our eyes open to the transformative power of your love and that it might course through us into your world.  Through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Amen.