Good morning. When we read the 14th chapter of John’s gospel, we are immediately blessed by verses 1-6. This is the passage where Jesus tells us not to worry, but to trust Him, and to know that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus says that this means that He is the only way to the Father.
There is great power in those words. We often leave the passage at that point, but there is more. Jesus goes on in verse 7 “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” This seems to confuse the disciples and Philip responds, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus was being asked to fully reveal God, His heavenly Father. Jesus tells them, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. John 14:9-11
Jesus is the revelation of the Father. When they looked upon Jesus, they were seeing the face of God. To hear Jesus’ words was to hear the voice of the Father. This truth was proven in powerful miracles and in the authority of His words.
When people look at us do they see the Lord revealed? I know, this is a huge responsibility, one that we may not feel comfortable trying to carry out. But the key is to realize that revealing Jesus is not a choice that you make to fit the situation at hand. It isn’t a conscious decision at all.
Just as Jesus tells His disciples that to see Him was to see the Father, so we reveal Christ in our lives. We do this because Christ is in us, and we are in Christ. We have clothed ourselves in Him and that isn’t something that changes day to day. It is more than a lifestyle it is simply life in Christ.
There are any number of people whose goals and desires are recognizable in the way they dress, talk, and act. We think of them, that person is a………
What our Lord asks of His people is that when the world looks at you, listens to you, watches what you do, they are to see the difference that Jesus is making. It isn’t something you put on or take off, it is you, it is you who are as one with your Lord Jesus.
Vern