“Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” John 14:8-9
They were little glaciers. On our recent journey to Alaska one of the highlights was an opportunity to see a real live glacier. To do that you have to travel up a rather narrow body of water. When you arrived at the end…there was the glacier. So, very early one morning, my wife Judy and I along with a couple of hundred crazy passengers gathered at the rail of our ship and watched as the beautiful scenery passed by. It was another of those moments that just confirmed my faith in our creator God. It was so obvious that what I was seeing was not an accident…rather it was the intentional act of a very intentional God.
Before long we began to see chunks of ice floating in the water. Their size was as varied as the colors in a rainbow. Some were small while others were large. And we were told that often what we could see on top of the water was just a sample of what was beneath. So we snapped picture after picture of these giant ice cubes. Before long we were told that because of the size of the ship (which was ginormous) we couldn’t get any closer to the glacier. So the captain of the ship began to spin the ship around in a circle so everyone would be able to see what little there was to see.
After a while, we slowly began to make our way up the channel of water making our way back to the bay. As we did a thought occurred to me. I realized that every one of those pieces of ice had broken off of the glacier. So while we couldn’t see the glacier itself we were seeing its “offspring.” So rather than grieving over what we couldn’t see, I decided we should be enjoying what we could see…and that changed everything. Really the only difference between the mother and her babies was their size. How about that? And then I realized something else–that is how it should be with us and Jesus. When people see us Jesus followers they should be able to see and realize that we are like Jesus. We may be smaller in scope and size but we should be shining examples of who He is. Jesus once said to His disciples, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Likewise, it should be said of us, “If you have seen us then you have seen the likeness of Jesus.
Let me encourage all you Jesus followers out there to live in such a way that people can recognize we have been with Jesus. The way we live, the way we act and the way we treat people should all show others Jesus. Like the smaller chunks of ice reflected the very nature and character of the glacier–let us reflect the very nature and character of our Savior. When we do then others will know that no matter what they face, this Jesus, the Son of God, can handle it. After all, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne
