reading with the kids tonight we went over the last portion of john 16 where Jesus is talking to the disciples about being able to talk with them in a more straightforward manner. knowing they hadn’t been given the gift of the Spirit yet makes it easier to understand why they continually have issues with understanding the deeper meaning behind Jesus’ words. they lacked God-given discernment and the insight that the Spirit lends to us when we are truly listening to God, and He has something to tell us.

beth and i were talking last week about how weird it feels to think about the nation of israel following after God through the desert, and in the promised land, but doing so without the Spirit indwelling in every person. today we have been truly blessed by God to live in a time when we can see the workings of His promises in such a bright light, and also have the advantage of millenia of hindsight to help bolster our faith.

but those poor israelites, and i have issues with saying “poor” here because they were still under the rule and guide of YHWH in a way that I would love. that sometimes visible, sometimes audible (and it was bone shakingly audible) physical-movement-in-order-to-follow life seems nice. but we must remember Jesus’ own words (spoken to Thomas) “Because you have seen Me you have believed, but blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe!”

it’s a trade off of sorts, isn’t it? they got to see, but the Spirit was not in them. (except the high priest, or the occasional prophet, king or judge) we do not see, directly, but we have the blessing of the confirmation of the Spirit. He is here, quietly recounting to us the will and Words of the Father through the Son. Neither grouping was/is lacking in leadership and evidence of the Trinity’s working in the world around them, each was blessed in a special way according to the grace given them by God.

so, even if you would like to see God show up at your front door as a pillar of cloud, or as a boiling pot and torch, we have been given the greater gift of a deeper, more reliant faith in Him. what a blessing!

thank-you Father for revelaing Yourself to our hearts and minds today, and for leading our spiritual ancestors physically in the past. Your love is evident in both methods, the working of your heart so closely intertwined with us for reasons that we will never grasp this side of heaven. thank-You Father for loving us, thank-You for guiding us, thank-You for just being You, despite us being who we are…you blow my mind every day.

thank-You.

thank-You.

thank-You.

amen.