familiarity

I was in Montana this summer in some of the most beautiful places I had ever been in my life. Every view stopped me in my tracks and I often would find myself just standing there looking and being completely astonished at what I was seeing.

I met a guy who moved there from Arizona.  I asked him, “How long did it take you living here before you were no longer in awe of what you saw? How long did it take before you stopped noticing the mountains?”

Jesus answered, “Don’t you know me Philip, even after I have been with you such a long time?” John14.9

Philip, don’t you recognize  love when you see it? Have you become so familiar with me that you no longer see me…that you no longer notice me at all?

I didn’t think it was possible to be around someone so much and still not know them.  How can someone spend three years of intimate companionship with Jesus and still miss it?  Yet this was the case with Philip.  He had been among the twelve disciples. Jesus handpicked him.  Still there was a disconnect between Philip and Jesus.

There can be a tremendous difference between being around Jesus and knowing Jesus. 

There can be a tremendous difference between being involved in and busy with Christian ministry and knowing Jesus.

Somewhere along the way, Philip’s idea of Jesus was different than who he actually was. And right here, days before Jesus was to be crucified, Philip becomes acutely aware that he didn’t know Jesus at all.

Perhaps he once knew Jesus intimately; in the beginning when it was fresh and new and everything was exciting and the routine was unpredictable. Then, as time went by, it became routine. The miracles were no longer astonishing. The words Jesus spoke no longer captured every ounce of attention. Everything just became day to day. 

“If anyone grows tired, burned out, or bored with Christianity, it is because they have become preoccupied and interested in something else in the Christian faith other than Jesus Christ.” (Richard Halverson)

Think on these questions:

Is there anything that has caused you to take your attention and focus off of Jesus?

Are you more interested in doing things for Jesus than talking to Jesus?

Can you recall the most recent time you had an acute awareness of the nearness and presence of Jesus?

How is your companionship with Jesus different than it was a year (or five years) ago?

 

**By the way. The old guy from Arizona replied, “ Oh, my friend. I still see them.  I make it a point every day to stop and take it in. It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”