I am going to tell you a story about someone in my family. The person behind the story is either one of my sisters, Liz, Heidi, or Hannah, my brother Jacob, or me. Your task is to guess which one of us this really happened to. When this person was a child our family had gone camping. They were riding their bike around the campground as we would make a habit of doing whenever we went camping. This person though is very distractible. As they were approaching the camper they were busy paying attention to a turtle crossing the road and forgot to watch where they were going. In front of the camper was parked a Chevy Astro van. This person was heading straight for the rear bumper of that van. Without so much as turning their head to realize impact was near this person struck the van square in the bumper so hard that the tube on the bike tire instantly popped. This person instantly jumped off the ground and ran into the camper crying. Mom came out, having heard the loud exploding of the tire, in quite frantic hurriedly dashing towards the crying child to tend to what was assumed to be a devastating injuring due to the amount of tears. But when Mom asked where they were hurt this person cried out that her tire popped. They were screaming and crying over the popped tire on the bike without a scratch on them. Which one of us was it?
It was Heidi. While I gave you a pretty detailed account of the story giving away hints and clues that seemingly made it obvious most you probably got it wrong and if anyone got it right it was simply because the odds say someone would. But if such a story were to be laid out before my family in which they had never had experience with every single one of them would most definitely have said this was Heidi. No matter how many clues I would give and how obvious I made the answer it would still be extremely unlikely that you would get the right answer because the task I gave you is an impossible one if you do not know my family very well. Sarah might not have even gotten the right answer if I didn’t tell her last night. To know this was Heidi you would have to know that she is very easily distracted, quite often very clumsy, and she would never cry about getting hurt unless it was Liz or I who did it to her. Even then she probably wouldn’t cry, she would probably hit us back. When we know someone quite well we begin to recognize their habits and tendencies. Heidi had some very distinguishing characteristics about her, especially as a child. We would never have to ask who puts all the rocks in the car to take home. Who dug the giant hole in the middle of the campsite, we all knew it wasn’t the dog. Whose purple shirt is this? Who was playing in the mud? Whose has 40 pairs of shoes? Who 30 soccer balls? Who drove their car on the grass when they backed up? We don’t have to ask any of those questions because we know the answer to them all is Heidi. In fact I know Heidi well enough that I can’t simply look in the house and see where she has been, but I have a pretty good idea of where she is going. If Heidi ever got lost I could find her quicker than you because I know her. I know where she likes to go and I know not only that she is very distractible but I know which things distract her. I can tell you whether she will return your phone call or not, no she won’t she will text you. Most of my family can do much the same thing. When we spend time with someone we begin to learn about them and recognize their trails they left behind and which paths they will go forward on.
Jesus had much the same relationship with his father. Turn to John 5:36-47
36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing, bear witness about me that the Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"
Before this Jesus had just finished saying that the Father shows him everything he does. So Jesus, seeing the good things of the Father does nothing of his own accord but rather does only the things his Father does. Now the Pharisees and Jewish leadership that rejected Jesus had no experience with Jesus, they did not know who he was or where he was from. But being the leadership in Judaism and thinking themselves to be religious, Jesus says they should have recognized him. When we spend time with someone we begin to recognize even when they aren’t present or don’t seem to be. We see something unique and we say “You know so and so would do that.” Jesus said to the Pharisees that not recognizing the works of God was in fact evidence of their lack of knowledge of God. If they knew God they would know what he does. Every place in the gospel of John where Jesus says, “I am” they should realize that these are all descriptions of God. I am the light of the World, the Word, The Bread of Life. If they knew God, they would know he is all these things. I they knew God then despite not knowing who Jesus is they would recognize that he must have at least spent time in his presence to have learned to live and work in such similar ways as him. It the Pharisees actually possessed within them the Word of God which the flaunted as their own then they would have believed in Jesus. But rather they’re rejection of Jesus was in fact a rejection of God, and every part of him they claimed to have so perfectly. The very thing they thought held them secure, their knowledge and possession of scripture, were in fact their downfall. Jesus said by believing that they had eternal life in their scriptures they actually missed the Father, missed the word, and missed eternal life. Jesus tells them it isn’t their knowledge that leads them to eternal life, but rather it is Jesus, whom their knowledge is intended to point them to, that leads to eternal life.
I think often times we question where God is. Is He at work? Is He still blessing? Is He working on that prayer I just prayed? Is He in my life? The answer to all of those is yes and I think most of us in our heads believe that, but we don’t see it. We want to see it, but we simply can’t. Well going back to the story earlier. I want to see my family, I want them around, but they are 500 miles away. Yet I see them every day. My bike gets a flat and I see Heidi. I see a camper and I think of my dad. And on and on. I see them in my life because I know them. The difference is that when I see my family in my life I am seeing but a reflection of past action. God is not a past action to be remembered. When we see God in our lives it is because in that moment He is actually there working in our lives. If we want to see God work then we need to know what God’s works look like. In order to know what his works look like we must know God. The answer isn’t, “I will draw near to God when I find him.” It is, “I will draw near to God so that I might find him.” When we spend time in prayer. When we read scripture. When we attend church and take part in the body of Christ. That is when we begin to know God and that is when we begin to see him working in our lives and working in the lives of others.
When we start spending time with, we start recognizing his movements and his works. When we see a good work being done we know it is him. When we see a blessing in our life we take comfort in his presence. When we pray we know he is answering. But most importantly when we see where God is working we desire to be there ourselves. When we know God we desire to know more of God. So we seek out his working in order to take part in it as well. Shortly after Jesus feeds the 5000 He talks about eating his body and drinking his blood. His disciples all leave him because they cannot see God in all this. It doesn’t make any sense. But the twelve disciples know Jesus pretty well. They recognize him and while they may not understand they do see God working and so turning over to John 6:66-69 we see what they do when they know God.
John 6:66-69 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."
Lord to whom shall we go. God alone holds the words of eternal life. When we know God we know the words that are on his lips and we know when they are spoken. The disciples knew Jesus was the Son of God, the messiah, without Jesus having to tell them directly because they knew God and they knew the words of life. They may not have understood, but they did know where they should be. On the flip side when we do not recognize the works of God. When we do not see his working an blessing, when we don’t notice his tendencies in others and our lives it is because we don’t know him well enough. If you want to see God working, then get to know him a little and you will learn to know what his works look like.
When we begin to see and perceive the tendencies, habits and traits of God we are drawn to them. We take comfort in them. And in fact we begin to become them. Jesus’ disciples dropped everything and followed Him because they knew God and recognized Christ. But it did not end there. The more time they spent with Jesus, the more they became life him and in fact as we see in Acts, they started teaching and preaching just like him. They took on the traits of the one they knew best. Remember I told you Heidi was a little clumsy. Well it isn’t just Heidi, our entire family is a bit clumsy, myself included. When we know God well we begin to take on some of his traits like we take on family traits. God is working and moving in our lives and in the people around us, but we will overlook and miss it all unless we take time to learn to know God.
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