He May be Closer Than You Think?
The Gospel of John
John Chapter Five
Scripture: John Chapter 5:39-40
39"You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40Yet you refuse to come to me so that I can give you this eternal life. (New Living Translation)
39-40"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want. (The Message)
Scripture: John Chapter 5:39-40
39"You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40Yet you refuse to come to me so that I can give you this eternal life. (New Living Translation)
39-40"You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about me! And here I am, standing right before you, and you aren't willing to receive from me the life you say you want. (The Message)
Observation: How easy it is to miss some of the most important things in life even when they are right in front of us? Somehow what is in our minds is often more real to us than what is actually true. It reminds me of the side mirrors of a car that have a sticker on them that states, Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. In the same way our minds can give us a distorted view of reality and we can miss what is actually right in front of us. Here is Jesus, “the Messiah,” the Redeemer of Israel right in front of the Jews and they can’t see him! He healed someone on the Sabbath and this act kept them from seeing who he was. He claimed to be one with God, which the Messiah would do, and they wanted to kill him. Somehow all their study of the scriptures did not help them accurately spot who was in their mirror (midst). Jesus was about relationships not the traditions of religion. Jesus was about following the will of His Father not the whims of the crowd. He was closer than they could ever imagine and still their preconceived ideas caused them to miss the most important encounter of their life!
Application: How many times do I miss what God is trying to do in my life? How often do I miss an encounter with the divine because it does not fit my point of view or my perspective on the activities of God? I don’t want my traditions to close in on me. I want to always be open for new sight. I want to be willing to see something new. I want to remain teachable and flexible. I don’t want to worship the scriptures and miss seeing the “Living Word.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the giver of life. I want to stay yielded to you. I want to be open to your ways today. May I not try to reshape your actions and desires to fit my perspectives but instead, humbly receive, in wonder and awe, everything that you have for me today.
