Christmas At The Movies - Week 1 - Day 3
OPENING PRAYER:
Jesus, thank you for wrestling with this human existence on our behalf. Help us remember that you have walked the dirt of this earth and felt the winds of this world.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am going.”
Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
REFLECT:
Jesus was 30 years old when his official ministry period began. By the time you turn 30, you’d like to think that some of your friends and family would understand you deeply and be on board with what you’re doing with your life. Jesus had to daily face people who did not understand him, even after his crucifixion!
Jesus must have experienced a lot of confused looks in his days on earth. He had different ideas, different approaches, and different goals with his time than others. His ways were confusing and confounded the masses, even those in his closest circle.
APPLY:
Jesus’ ways can still be confusing. We often walk into situations where his ideas, approaches, and goals make no sense. It’s important in these times to ask ourselves:
Who do I say he is?
What do I know to be true about his character?
How does that affect how I lean into my trust in him?
CLOSING PRAYER:
Jesus, help me to trust who you are even when I don’t fully understand what you’re doing. Remind me what your true character is and equip me to walk well with others as they seek to learn more of who you are and the love you have for us.