Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Hello, good people.

We did a walk/jog. In typical fashion Dandy frustrated us on the road where we encountered a good deal of people-going-to-work traffic.

After a shower and some breakfast, I think I’ll see how close I can come to knocking out the logs I have left to mill at Dickey Prairie. I need to get that mill machine home and commence work on another job that has serious time pressure applied. While we needed the rain, I hope it can hold off doing more till I finish the milling.

Becki is about to run off to her Woodburn Bible Study commitment.

May your day bear evidence of God’s blessing.

Love, Dad/Ray.

All John said was, “Look, the Lamb of God”—while pointing to Jesus. That seems to be all it took to prompt two of John’s disciples to follow Jesus on foot. When Jesus was aware of their presence (implied), He turned and asked what they wanted. Rather than answer forthrightly, that they wanted to check out what John meant by referring to Jesus as “the Lamb of God”, they were evasive and just tried to make conversation—“Rabbi—where are you staying?” Jesus ignored the diversion and responded, “Come…and you will see.” I suppose Jesus then led them to the house where He was staying. But I believe His ultimate aim, as they continued to follow Him, was to show them where He was intending to live. Where is that? In their hearts. He knew that the completion of His role as “the Lamb of God” was to affect the salvation of men, and to be determined on that basis—“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). This really is the essence of the New Testament.

Seeing is believing. But physical seeing is not sufficient. Paul insists that we have heart eyes. Listen again to his prayer in Ephesians 1:18-21: “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”

What Paul expresses in this prayer has a similarity to what Jesus said to Nathaniel in today’s reading: “You shall SEE heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (John 1:51). In so saying, Jesus was actually quoting from the vision (SEEING) experience of Jacob in Genesis 28:10-22. (Check it out.) And that, in other words, was the same as what Jesus said in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes unto the Father except through me.”

Don’t you agree that the main factor that separates a true follower of Christ from the typical unbelieving worldling all boils down to a matter of SEEING? The determiner is appropriately called a BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW. Any other VIEW is an UNBIBLICAL one. God’s Word and His Spirit are revealing and provide a vision and VIEW not experienced by the unbeliever. Isn’t that the essential message Jesus was giving to Nicodemas in John 3?—“…no one can SEE the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). It occurs to me—a kind of “Duh!” moment—one who mounts up with wings as an eagle (Isaiah 40:31-32) is going to SEE a much bigger picture than one who is merely meandering through the forest.