Scripture:
John 14:12 NASB: “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father.”
John 15:15 NIV: “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.
Matthew 11:29 KJV: “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Reflection:
Are there any Selenologists out there? How about an Uranologist? So, what in the world is a selenologist or a uranologist? Before I give you the answer…both are not really in this world. Go ahead and take a guess. My first guess would be someone who studies selen and ran, which must be somewhere on the lower half of the periodic table of elements – right?
The correct answer is that Selenologist is someone who studies the moon and an Uranologist is a stargazer! They are both branches of physics that study celestial bodies along with the universe as a whole.
So why do I mention these two narrow areas of science? Well, a couple of nights ago, there was an amazing moon rise over the Cascade mountains. It was a beautiful sight and captured my imagination as I tried to find the old man’s face on the moon. Yet as amazing as it was, my guess is that a Selenologist would have seen it in a whole different light. I looked at the dark valleys and tried to see a face in the shadows within the moonscape, but a Selenologist could have pointed out what I was looking at and the diversity of the moon’s topography. Without a doubt, they would have appreciated that moonrise in a very different way, all because of their training.
A Selenologist “sees more because they know more!” It’s a logical truism. When a music composer listens to a symphony, they will have a greater appreciation for the chords, the melodies, and how the various tones of each instrument blend together to create an emotion that is something greater than each individual instrument.
Likewise, when we learn more about God’s word, we see more of God in our lives. When we see more of God, our love for both God and his great love of people grows. While this might seem obvious to most followers of Jesus, the power of this truth is often lost to us. The goal of learning more about Jesus is not to know more about Jesus, but rather it is to truly know, understand, connect, and be changed by Jesus.
It was why I believe Jesus asked his disciples to follow him…24/7. He didn’t set up an appointment to meet up with the disciples. He didn’t do a once-a-week coffee date. He said in Matthew 11:29 “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;” By leaving their nets, and following him, it was possible for them to see who Jesus really was. By “learning the Jesus way” changed them and allowed them to see the leper as someone worthy of being hugged. Jesus allowed the redeemed prostitute to be one of the inner circle. It was how the disciple began to understand the business of Heaven.
Let me say this another way. “Great love for God is born out of great knowledge of God and his ways.” It produces a humbling revelation of how much we still don’t know and how far we still need to go in denying ourselves and loving others. It humbles us and yet it draws us.
This week – Learn more – See more – Love more!
Together with you, on this amazing journey toward heaven!
David
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