Knowing

I’m am always rather pleased and often surprised when God presents me with an extrapolation of something he’s been showing me. Take the sermon this morning. Despite being entirely distractable I did not fail to miss the pointed stab that proceeded from the ‘Unsafe God’ post I made of my scrambled head a day or so ago.

Peter Downes was preaching (with minimal visual aids again, which helps to lose me really fast) on John 6:25ff.

25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Very roughly paraphrasing on something that was said, “Look beyond the physical (here being the miraculous signs) and instead look at who Jesus is”. Throw everything onto the scales of humanity and weigh up what’s important. What is most important?

I think in a round about kind of way I’ve been too long looking at or at least focusing on finding myself and seeking to understand how and why God would love me (as one example). I came across something I’d written in a New Testament class last year and the focus was distinctly there. However I don’t think that I’ve been exclusively devoted to that in this past while as I’ve found journal evidence otherwise. I’ve been trying somewhat unconciously to look at the flipside – How to know/love God etc… Who God is. I think I actually set out intentionally to do this some time ago (progressively through the other stuff YES, but more specifically) but I’ve been feeling around a bit in the dark. Just stuck. I think.

Not sure how clear that is in relation to the other stuff, but it made perfect sense at the time. What that means for me now I’m not entirely sure. I can only pray for God to show me more of himself, which isn’t a new prayer really, and maybe you’d be kind enough to ask the same for me when you consider it yourself.