WATCHWORD:
18 Moses responded, “Then show me your glorious presence.” Exodus 33:18
18 No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. John 1:18
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I speak are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. 11 Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen me do. John 14:6-11
9 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. Deuteronomy 4:29
Meditation:
Have You seen the Father?
How about you? Have you seen the Father? Have you heard His voice? Have you felt His presence? Have you looked around, really looked around with eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to see if you can find Him? Perhaps you have heard the Father if you listen very carefully to what is happening all around you, perhaps you have heard Him. Maybe in the voice of a neighbor, maybe in the call of a bluebird, or maybe it came through a spontaneous and unexpected visit. Have you seen the Father?
Think on this: If you want to see the Father and you wonder what His character, personality or compassion is like, we need only to looked to Jesus. In Him, all of those qualities of kindness, gentleness, love and mercy are on full display. While we may not fully understand the magnitude of the gift that is ours through Christ, we need only to trust that the gift is ours, and live it.
Or, perhaps, you are like Philip, and you ask: “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” And you hear Him tell you: “Don’t you know me, even after I have been with you such a long time? Anyone who has seen all that I have created has seen the Father.” That would seem to make it clear that Jesus is the fullest possible encounter with God’s Glory we are privy to now, but, then, later, face-to-face in the blessings of eternal live.
“No one comes to the Father except through me” has been a point of discussion for countless Bible studies and between religious philosophies. If one believes in the Triune God, Father-Son-Holy Spirit, one being with the Father, where is the confusion? Jesus, God incarnate, is speaking, so the “me” is correct. It would also be correct to say, No one come to the Father except through the Father. Or, perhaps, no one comes to the Father except through the Holy Spirit. It’s a bargain, folks, if you believe in One, you get all Three. Praise the Lord.
Tell me that you seek the Father. It is through our seeking and listening that we begin to know more fully our Lord and Savior, Creator of the Universe. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
We shall not cease from searching, and the end of all our searching will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. T S Eliot.
Closing Prayer:
