A Life of Faith

This past Sunday I taught from John’s account of Jesus calling some of his first disciples (John 1:43-51). During that message, I explored the idea of how the human experience that forms our preconceived notions and prejudices can keep us from fully exercising our faith. As Phillip shared with Nathanael that he had found The promised Messiah, Nathanael’s skepticism was met with a simple invitation to “come and see” what he experienced in Jesus. 

Faith can be a bit of a funny thing. Faith requires hope and perspective in the face of life experience.  It gets tricky when we have to begin using our reason and intellect to see God in the midst of our circumstances, especially when those events seem to contradict what we think faith should be. What we’re left with is reconciling the gap between our reality and God’s potential for us, even when it doesn't seem to make sense. 

As Nathanael encountered Jesus, the Lord spoke truth into his life. This astounded Nathanael and helped him commit to follow Christ. In the midst of Nathanael’s excitement, Jesus told him that he would see greater things happen than these if he followed him.

Nathanael’s preconceived notions about someone from Nazareth, as well as his excitement for the potential of the future, were met in Jesus. As he contemplated his past feelings and future hopes, he could not overcome the magnitude of his own life experience. The same is true for you and me. 

Jesus wants to enter into your life and help you make sense of your past — regardless of how messy it is. Jesus also wants to invite you into an actual living breathing relationship to follow him and help you navigate your future — you guessed it, regardless of how messy it might be. 

Are you finding yourself at the intersection of your past, present, and future and trying to see God in the middle of it all? Are your preconceived notions based on your life experience clouding your vision as to what God can do with a life of faith? Are you scratching your head as to where you’ve been and left wondering where you will go next? It is true that Jesus doesn’t exactly lay out a roadmap to follow, but what He does promise to do is lead you along the way. 

Why don’t you give it a shot to “come and see” who God has given us in Jesus. He can definitely help you find peace with your past and make sense of your future. Follow Jesus and you will truly see greater things you can imagine!