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Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” John 14:8 (NLT)
The word Father had a completely different connotation to Philip in his day than it does to us today. The term ‘Father’ was much more than a symbol. It conjured up in the minds of every Jew a man that was honored, revered, feared and loved all at once. He was the essence of stability, love, consistency and trust.
Philip was seeking what each of us wants in life. Someone that could be trusted to do what he said he’d do. Someone in whom they saw power and intimacy and leadership and sensitivity. Today, everyone has the same longing deep within them. We all long to have someone in our lives we can count on to be, do and say what they say they will.
My apologies for a moment to the women reading this post. Mothers too have a powerful influence in our lives. But to get the full essence of Philips request we need to realize the immense influence of fathers in the emotional, physical and spiritual development of each of us.
In the same way we need to realize that the ‘father’ that Philip sought is still being sought by many today. While it’s impossible for anyone to fulfill all the qualities of our heavenly Father, it’s imperative that we as fathers strive to work towards that goal.
So, what does our heavenly Father look like? Watch Jesus.
Ask the woman who was guilty of adultery. Remember, she wasn’t accused. She was guilty. Jesus makes no effort to exonerate her. He doesn’t argue her guilt at all. He simply says she was not condemned. What a Compassionate Father!
Question the man who lived his entire life rejecting God. That is, until his dying breath on the cross when he begged Jesus for mercy. Moments later he joined his Savior in Paradise. What a Merciful Father.
Ask the blind man who spend his entire life in physical darkness only to be misunderstood when Jesus gave him sight. What an Understanding Father!
Listen to the father of the seizure ridden boy as he tells the story of how Jesus healed his son and how, that night, he and his wife slept soundly for the first time in years. What a Sensitive Father!
Hear the story the paralytic by the pool recount. He’d given up any hope of healing. His disability started out being physical but grew to the point where it was emotional (I’ll never make it to the pool. I’ll never be healed) and then spiritual (even God has forgotten me). Then Jesus came. What an Encouraging and Healing Father!
Max Lucado states, “Faith begins when you see God on the mountain and you are in the valley and you know that you are too weak to make the climb.”
It’s during those dark times in our lives that we echo the words of Philip. I don’t understand all that’s going on. The future scares me. Just show me the Father and I’ll be okay.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, Daddy, God of all creation. Thank you for being the kind of Father I need for all time. When I feel weak and am unsure I can go on, help me to see Jesus so that I can see you. Amen.
This will happen on the day when the Lord Jesus comes to receive glory because of his holy people. And all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus. You will be in that group, because you believed what we told you. 2 Thessalonians 1:10 (NCV)
What does Jesus look like? Many artists have tried to give us a glimpse of what he may have looked like to satisfy our curiosity. In the pictures I grew up with he looked like some frail little Scandinavian guy with feminine hands knocking gently on a huge door or kneeling by a rock. He was surrounded by a halo and looked ‘other worldly’. Later, some tried to portray a more ‘Jewish looking’ Jesus with more masculine features.
The prophet Isaiah brought a message of repentance to a stubborn people. He thought he knew God. He thought he knew himself. But when he saw God for who he truly was (Isaiah 6) he fell to his knees and cried ‘Woe is me!’ God was so much more than he could have imagined and this view of God caused him to see himself for what he really was. I think when we finally get to see Jesus it will be a similar effect. When we see him as he is our first response will be a gasp because we will see how magnificent he truly is.
Those of us who are Christ-followers will see him differently than others. We will see our coming king dressed in regal robes that signify power. We’ll see him as a high priest. That has a different meaning for us today than it did in Jesus day. The priest, in some ways, held more ‘awe’ than the king. It was the priest that showed us all the way to the Creator God.
I’m looking forward to seeing Jesus in all his majesty, but it won’t be the robes that draw me to him, it will be his eyes. You can tell a lot by looking at someone straight in the eyes. When I see Jesus on that day I think that rather than showing power and majesty his eyes will show love and compassion…and grace.
When I see those eyes I’ll know for certain that all my hopes have been satisfied. Those sins I confessed really are gone. The emotional pain of yesterday will melt into the joy and peace of eternity. The physical stress of wondering how I’ll get through this next project, or make the money last another week will become insignificant. The inner longing I’ve had to know…to REALLY KNOW I’m okay will disappear. I’ll know for certain that I am loved by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
I have questions of course. And so do you. All those things you and I have said flippantly about “When I get to heaven I’m going to ask Jesus why he did this or allowed that”. But in reality, those things will seem so insignificant that I’m quite sure I’ll completely forget about all those questions for at least a million or two years.
Remember the story of the woman who anointed Jesus with oil? She forgot about her social standing. The cost of the oil was insignificant. The reaction of the crowd didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was with Jesus. I’ll be there with her.
I can’t wait until Jesus comes.
PRAYER: Jesus, son of the living God, King of Kings, Lord of Lord, friend of the downcast and lifter of those who have fallen. Great healer, provider and passionate lover. I am so thankful that you love me. I’m so grateful for the forgiveness you’ve given me and the life I have here on earth. But with all you have given me, my greatest joy will be when I can look into your eyes and be amazed. Come quickly Lord Jesus. Amen.
You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your care you watched over my life. Job 10:12
Ever said to yourself, “I wish God would just send me an email or text message and tell me what to do!”?
Some of our texts would go something like this: “So, how can I tell my mom and dad I’m [pregnant; gay; dropping out of school]” or “Where should I apply for a job?” or “What is going to happen with this relationship? Should I pursue it, or leave it alone?” or “I’m going to the doctor in an hour, can you heal me before I go? If not, what’s the report going to say about my cancer?” or “The bank just called, God. The house is being foreclosed on. Can you tell me what to do next?”
The list goes on and on of the questions that come across our minds. Questions about how we should act/react, searching for guidance, advice, direction, and information on how to trust God more, or make him more a part of your life. The God we believe in is not only loving, gracious and merciful, he’s mysterious. Sometimes our pursuit of him and of the best way to travel this journey we call life seems to find one detour and/or dead end after another.
Look at the life of Job. A man steeped in wisdom and understanding. A worshipper of the true God. A man of great wealth and generosity to the community and his family. Yet in spite of all the good things he had going for him, financial, physical and relational attack landed him in a pile of ashes and scraping open sores with a broken bowl. Even Job’s so-called friends could offer no comfort or no answers.
Yet in the midst of his agony Job gives this stirring testimony of God’s presence and love in his life. He says [my paraphrase] “I wish you’d talk to me and tell me why all this stuff is happening to me. I’ve lost my kids, I’ve lost my wealth, my wife has lost faith in you and me, and these great friends of mine keep telling me to suck it up because if I hadn’t sinned this wouldn’t be happening. I know better God. I’ve seen in my walk with you that you are a great and compassionate God who has watched over me all my life.”
That’s real faith! Faith says that even though God seems a million miles away from me and my situation, I know I can trust Him to see me through. You see, no one who has ever sought grace and forgiveness has ever been denied. No one who has called out to Jesus in true repentance and faith has been ignored.
Remember Lazarus who lay on his death bed, looking down the street for his friend Jesus to come. He knew healing was in reach but it never came…until after he died. Think of the woman caught in adultery. Guilty? Yes. Ready to be stoned? You bet. But one by one her accusers left because of Jesus. Think of the thief on the cross. Moments from death and eternity in hell, yet in his last gasp he calls on Jesus and is ushered into eternal life with the Messiah.
Need a message from God? Look to his son Jesus for compassion and strength. Remind yourself of the great promises he gave you in his love letter we call the Bible. In your deepest need don’t forget that he is with you and waits to deliver you from whatever is keeping you from seeing his face.
PRAYER: Father God. Even though I believe in you and your Son Jesus, I confess that I often wonder where you are in the struggles of my life. Forgive me for the doubt. Remind me of the great promises you’ve given. Empower me to live in the grace only you can give. In Jesus name, Amen.
All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the LORD gave him the punishment we deserved. Isaiah 53:6 (CEV)
Jesus wants each of us to know two things, we are all sheep and we’ve all wandered. It doesn’t matter if you are the CEO of a major company or a Single parent living in low-income housing. You are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you are a teen struggling to get through school or a leading professor in a major university, you are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you have a bank-roll the size of Rhode Islandor are unemployed and living on welfare and food stamps, you are a sheep. It doesn’t matter if you are on your sixth marriage (and it’s in trouble) or are celebrating your 75th wedding anniversary with your high school sweetheart, you are a sheep.
Before you conjure up in your minds the picture of a cute little lamb drinking from a bottle and looking all cute and cuddly, take a look at some sheep facts.
- Sheep have to have a leader to follow. Experiments with sheep have shown that usually one sheep is the dominant one. If that sheep is taken from the flock and the sheep are sent out to the same pasture they’ve gone to a thousand times, they will become confused. Some will lie down. Others will wander aimlessly or simply stand in one place and not know what to do.
- Sheep are crowd followers. They rarely think for themselves. They’d just as soon have someone else do that for them. As long as they are fed and comfortable they are happy.
- Sheep become very stressed with change and when separated from their friends. When danger comes they tend to panic and flee in different directions without thought of the consequences.
- Sheep tend to be closest to those who are ‘related’ to them and don’t interact well with sheep ‘of another color’ so to speak.
- Although not considered intelligent at all, sheep do tend to remember faces and voices very well and can differentiate between a familiar voice and an unfamiliar voice.
Consider, for a moment how many times we react like sheep in our daily lives, in our relationships with others and with God and during times of stress. Remember…we are ALL sheep.
Secondly, we have all wandered away. When I was young I remember hearing testimonies of men and women who had been delivered from the most horrendous lifestyle imaginable. I often wished that I could have a great testimony like that. One that speaks of God’s deliverance from terrible things. Of course, since then I’ve learned two things. One is that I’ve made enough blunders of my own to qualify. Secondly, in God’s eyes we are all sheep (have I mentioned that?) and we have all wandered. It doesn’t matter where we’ve wandered or how far or why. We have all wandered away from God. We all have stories of his deliverance.
It’s no wonder then that Jesus refers to himself as the good shepherd. The good shepherd knows the struggles sheep have. He knows they depend on him for protection, guidance and companionship. He knows their ways and they know his voice. Even though we, as sheep, wander we have a good shepherd who constantly looks after us to guide comfort and forgive.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus. Thank you for being the good shepherd. Thank you for forgiving me, being patient when I wander and seeking me out when I stray. Help me to follow your voice and not the other voices. In your name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 