11 March 2016 - more than meets the eye

[ Today's Readings ]

“You know me and also know where I am from.
Yet I did not come on my own,
but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true.
I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.”

There's always more to you than we realize Jesus. We get used to our current level of relationship with you. We start saying things like "we know where he is from." And it's true that we're a little closer than the inhabitants of Jerusalem. We know that you come from the Father. But still we find ourselves saying, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us" (see John 14:8).

Draw us deeper LORD. Become more real to us. Teach us to see you and not merely our ideas about who you are. If we are willing you want to guide us more deeply into the truth of who you are.

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father (see John 14:9).

Why do we fail to see it, LORD? Is it perhaps that when we have these preconceived ideas about who you are and where you come from we feel safe? Is it because an encounter with the living God feels dangerous?

When we see you and not just our ideas about you we might find that you set yourself against some of the things we do. You might convict us when we violate our training or transgress the law. It might even feel like a censure of our thoughts. None of this happens because you want to condemn us. It happens because we see just how good you are. Seeing that we realize how far we ourselves still have to go. You aren't safe, LORD. But it's better that you aren't.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” 

― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

You are calling us to greater things than mere safety. It is precisely by seeing you more and more clearly that we are purified for this goal.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is (see First John 3:3).

How do we make sure that we see you LORD? How do we see past the stagnant and static half-memories that limit how close you come to us? We look with an attitude of humility and not pride. We lower our shields and lay down our defenses. We allow ourselves to approach you with broken hearts knowing that you are close to the brokenhearted. We allow our spirits to be crushed knowing that you save those who are crushed in spirit.

He watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.