Heart Tracks - Now Appearing

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 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. John 14:8-9

About a decade ago I began keeping a prayer journal in which I would enter thoughts and desires that came to me through His Spirit, either by way of other people or just things He was speaking directly to me. Something I wrote down a number of years ago was, "Lord, may You be recognized by us and through us today." I would pray that not only for myself, but also for those He'd entrusted to me in prayer, which, if you're receiving this writing, includes you. Philip the disciple had a longing to see the Father. It's a longing shared by most, including those who would make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We're created with a longing for Him. The problem is, even with those who do profess to follow Him, is that the Father is on display before us each and every day. Indeed, each and every moment, but we fail to see Him. Philip spent three years in the company of Christ, and the means of satisfying his longing was ever before him, but he couldn't recognize Him. How like Philip are you and I? Here's the Double Jeopardy; if we can't recognize Him when He's right before us, who will recognize Him in us when we are before them?

It's not really a mystery why we have such a difficult time seeing Him. Our eyes only seem able to function upon earthly objects. We depend upon our natural senses. This is normal for those without Him, but sadly, it's also normal for too many who say they're His. He gives spiritual sight to those who come to Him, but too many never lose their dependency on their natural vision. Paul talked of our learning to see Christ in all things, but we tend to see everything but Him. A great part of the problem is that we never "learn" to see Him, because the learning only comes by experience, and too often, like Philip, we don't know Him because we can't see Him. We learn to see Him when we bring that deep desire to see Him and join it to a Holy Spirit powered determination to see Him. When that is at work in us, He begins to appear before us everywhere. Not to our natural eyes, but to the eyes of our heart and spirit. As our hearts become more and more entwined with His, we cease to see only in the flesh, and begin to have the "insight" of the Spirit.

Somewhere around two years of age, I developed what was termed "lazy eye." One of the prescribed methods the doctors came up with was to put a patch over my good eye with the idea that my flawed one would be strengthened. I was very young, and I'm sure it helped in some ways, but the real help came when in high school, I determined that I wouldn't depend upon my glasses but would try to focus both eyes and see normally. Gradually, my "lazy eye" grew stronger until I was able to read, drive, and see on an almost completely natural level. What had always been blurred became clear. Could it be that if we will act upon that desire to see and know Him, and seek the spiritual discernment only He can give, He will grant us the supernatural ability to do so. We will recognize Him in all the events of life, both good and bad. We will know that wherever we are, regardless of the circumstances, He's there, and because we can "see Him", we also know Him, and we know that He will work all of it for our good according to His purpose. And the fruit of that is that we recognize Him in all things. And others can recognize Him through us in all things. So that simple prayer becomes our reality.

So I leave with the question, is the reality of our recognizing Him and others recognizing Him through us our reality? Are we living, journeying through this world dependent upon our natural sight, or upon they eyes of His Spirit? We can be sure that this day, He will be appearing to us, and He'll be seeking to appear in and through us. A good pastor friend likes to say that every believer ought to be like a theatre marquee that announces to a watching world, "Now Appearing, Jesus Christ!" What are our lives announcing?

Blessings,

Pastor O