Pondering John 14:8-14.
The quarantine of 2020 forced us to slow our pace of life but I don’t think I was ever been so mentally exhausted. The unrelenting COVID-19, the tragic displays of injustice topped off with the constant political bantering wore me out. I struggled for answers as to how our nation has gotten into such a mess and I wondered if recovery was possible.
As I ponder this passage, I said to myself, “And once again, more questions than answers!”
Philip asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father….Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”
Jesus explained that every word He spoke was never just His own. Every deed accomplished was through the Father living within Him. Every miracle was a visible expression of the Father’s heart.
It’s the divine union. God is three—Father, Son and Holy Spirit while God is one. Mind boggling! I wrestled with this statement of faith for years, probably starting as a teenager. I studied the explanations offered through analogies found within nature (like water defined in 3 different forms—liquid, ice and steam…but still water) and they helped…sorta. I’ve considered that I myself am a trinity—body, soul and spirit. Yet I continued to “chew the same bone” until weary with the futility. So, I made the decision to accept this paradox as part of God’s incomprehensible nature and walk in faith that Jesus explained it as best as our minds can understand. I’m resting in the truth of the trinity—three, unified in one. Such a mindset is crucial to understanding everything else Jesus teaches in His last hours of life.
Our complex God is more than my little mind can fathom. But through the person of Jesus, God has revealed that He is all powerful, all wise, capable of miracles, compassionate, merciful, kind and always, always good. That’s sufficient for my needs today!
Questions to ponder:
How does “being certain of what I cannot see” affect my day-to-day living? What are the rewards?
debponders 