You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet!
Posted on Jan 10, 2018 by
John 1:43-51
43The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”
A couple of weeks ago we received the news that Kari’s 93-year-old Grandma Mary had passed away. She was an amazing woman who positively impacted everyone around her. She had the incredible gift to make you feel welcomed and valued like you were the only person in the room. She was also a woman of deep faith who shared Christ’s love with so many people in her life.
Grandma Mary was born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1924. At the age of 2, Mary and two of her sisters were sent to live with an aunt and uncle in South Dakota after her mother died. It was an extremely difficult life during the depression with little food nor money to support the extra mouths to feed. Mary shared one story about a large tree she called the crying tree. She would stop at the tree each day on her way home from school to gather enough courage to face her difficult home life.
Grandma Mary persevered where many others would have given up. As she got older she found herself a job and stayed with friends in town to attend high school. She graduated and then worked to put herself through college to become a teacher. She was a strong and independent woman who knew that greater things would come if she worked hard and believed in herself. Every time life knocked her down she got right back up and didn’t let fear keep her from moving forward.
In our scripture this week Jesus seeks out disciples who are willing to give up everything and follow him. He is asking them to lean into the discomfort of fear and uncertainty to see something greater.
How can each of us lean into our fear and uncertainty to find the greater good? How might we get beyond our comfort zone to serve Christ in our community and beyond?
Peace- John Holt
Director of Youth and Family Ministries