Recognizing Father

Tomorrow brings another big day in our lives. I, my wife, and my mother all will be officially one year older. I'll be 39, one year shy of 4-0. I'm not sure why exactly, but that seems to be a defining year for most people. It's kind of that magic number that you get to in life that says, "You can no longer call yourself a young anything. The word 'middle-aged' is now what you're supposed to call yourself."

I have to say, however, that while there are signs there of getting older, for the most part I still feel like my regular self, for better and worse. One of those things that seems to evolve is how I recognize God in my life. One thing I liked when I was younger was how I could seem to get excited about recognizing God in the moment. If I heard a really good speaker, or a great concert, or participated in serving people, I could get that really awesome feeling in the moment. These days, it's not always as instantly apparent. I know He's there and doing things in my life, but I often don't recognize it until it's already happened.

I think for many it's easier to recognize the movement of God in the moment. I was a youth pastor for a long time, something I still miss doing. I think that part of the reason I loved doing that was the ability to see them recognize God in the moment. They weren't jaded by age, experience, skepticism, or whatever. They just seemed to get it!

One young person on a mission trip was in tears after we served several people in a remote village who had need of basic life necessities... clothing and medicine. In the moment, I was concerned about having enough and keeping the traffic flowing through the room so we could serve more people. This young person was getting it in the moment, while it took me a few hours to really see it for what it was (in hindsight)... God at work in powerful ways!

Even as I write this, I have to remember something of critical importance... God is always at work in powerful ways. Just because my senses are often too dull to notice it doesn't mean He isn't there and working supernatural stuff. Just the fact that I can stand here a forgiven man means something is happening and has happened.

In John 14:8-14, Jesus and Philip have an interesting conversation. Philip says to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father..." Jesus: "Don't you know me, Philip,...? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father..."

OK, then Jesus promises the disciples the Holy Spirit Who was to come in Jesus' Name. He even tells them they're better off if He leaves so that this would be possible. As it turns out, the Holy Spirit in them was the evidence of God living in them, being more intimate with them than at any time since the Garden.

That's amazing stuff! Consider it... if you have ever noticed the presence of God in you, working with you, doing things through you, serving people, performing a miracle, giving you an "aha!" moment as you read Scripture, whatever... that's the Holy Spirit living in and through you. When you see another person doing something that glorifies God, you have seen the Father! That's the gift of Jesus. That is experiencing God in ways that go even beyond getting a visual.

It seems to me we esteem this too lightly. At any moment, if I believe I am in His presence, it is an opportunity to glorify and experience Him. It doesn't matter if I'm alone or in the company of friends or with strangers. He is there. I have to believe I "have seen the Father," that I know what He is like. And if this is true, every moment can be filled with awe and wonder and amazement and worship.

If you're someone who just serves people and loves others, someone who breathes God's love without having to say anything, someone who can be filled with His joy in suffering or triumph... thank you! You have shown me the Father! I hope I am showing Him to you!