Knowing the Father

John 14: 7 - 14

I am in the Father...

It is the longing of our hearts to "know" and "be known" by others. Imagine how much we try to gain the approval and love of other human beings - just to fulfill this longing. How much more do we all (whether we acknowledge it or not) seek to know our Creator and God. Philip made a request we might also want to make.

Jesus says, "Look at me. Get to know me. You have been with me so long, and yet you have not opened yourself to who I really am" It is always amazing what happens when we turn our gaze upon Jesus, when we really contemplate him. Our "belief" in him grows from intellectual knowledge to one of experiential love and grace. Is this our hearts deepest longing?

Jesus says that persons with this type of "belief" do "great" works. I understand this to mean that all that one does, will be imbued with a quality of godliness. It does not mean that we do things of great magnitude (that would be another temptation to self elevation). We may be called to little things and even insignificant things in the eyes of the world. But these will all be done in the "praise and glory of God".

Knowing the Father, we know our place as his children, as his creatures whom he created for his glory. Putting first things first is a prerequisite for our prayers in Jesus' name, to be answered.