What I See

7/30/2017

John 1.48 48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” St. John

I have used a Bible reading regimen since 2002 – it’s called, S.O.A.P. It stands for, Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer. The thought process is simply: read through the Bible (Scripture) with some kind of plan and intentionality, and then journal appropriately to what I see (observe), how I can apply what I saw to my daily living, and then a prayer to God for the wherewithal to do what I saw and attempt to apply.  

This morning before I began reading I had the thought: don’t write about what you know, write about what you see. I know some stuff – everybody does. But the greater calling in life is to live by what you see, and then live, and love accordingly. The greatest calling in life, is to love, despite what you see. That is also the hardest part of life. To see people properly is to love them properly… 

Jesus was not who, or what, people wanted to see. That threw people. If Messiah is to be: all that, AND a bag of chips, why doesn’t He look like a Messiah. We need to understand that God doesn’t play by our rules. Ever. But we are more than welcome to play by His. 

So, in the story, a seeker of Jesus, a guy named Philip, calls out to his friend Nathanael and says, hey man, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” And Nathanael, knowing about Nazareth says, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael saw nothing good in Nazareth. 

And upon meeting Jesus, the Lord said: “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” To which Nathanael says: “How do you know me?” And Jesus replied, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Astounded, Nathanael says: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” You know, what I see is this: God sees us. 

It doesn’t matter whether we’re under the fig tree, under the weight of anxiety, or the pressure of performance and production; God sees us. And like Nathanael, we need to embrace that knowledge. And now, because I see, I know that God is an inescapable part of life for every person on the planet. And because I know that, I know that He sees me. That ought to make me think about what I see and how I respond to what I see.  

My seeing sometimes influences my doing. Sometimes seeing someone in need, and while having the ability to help, not doing anything to help, shows that I am not seeing things as I should. God looks at me to see what it will take in my life to bring about eternal life. I at least ought to see others in the same way: Lord, how can I help this person (or these people) to see You for who You are? 

And that is my prayer: 

Father in Heaven, You see me for who You’ve created me to be. Help me to see my fellow man as works-in-progress, and to come alongside the willing and the unwilling to help them to see You for who You really are: “Lord, You are God; You are the king of the world!” Amen