Show Us the Father

How could the apostles live with Jesus, eat with Him, work with Him, and yet fail to get who He really was? And this happened so often, like in John 14:7 after Jesus said, “If you had known Me you would also have known My Father. From now on you know Him and have seen Him,” and Philip answers “Lord, show us the Father. That is all we ask, then we shall be satisfied” (John14:8 Amplified).

You can well imagine what went through Jesus’ mind, but He was kind, and though I’m sure He must have been frustrated, He didn’t call Philip “dull-witted” or “faithless” or “beyond hope.” Rather He said, “Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet, Philip? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say then, Show us the Father?”

Perhaps Philip’s statement wouldn’t seem so foolish if Jesus hadn’t already told His disciples in John 10:30, “I and the Father are One.” And again in John 10:38 He said, “the Father is in Me and I am in the Father (One with Him).” You’d think when someone claimed something this radical the person hearing it would remember those words. But it seems that not one of Jesus’ disciples did.

And so it is with us. There are countless claims about God in the Bible, radical claims about Who His is; what He did for us and why; how He’ll never leaves us or forsake us; how He is our healer and provider; how the battles in our lives are His to fight; how He has a plan and purpose for our lives; how we are fearful and wonderfully made; how we are more precious to Him than we can imagine; how we are more than conquerors; and so forth, and STILL we forget. So often when things go wrong, we fail to remember who Jesus is and how much He has invested in us, how much He loves us and wants the best for us. And we often forget all the wonderful things Jesus has already done for us in our lives. Like Philip, we are flesh and blood and often foolish. We are also prone to forgetfulness especially when we’re in a pickle. And at those times I think most of us say, “show us the Father; show us your hand in this, show us your love, because I can’t see You right now.”

And yes, I wonder if Jesus doesn’t say under His breath, “Have I been with all of you for so long a time, and do you not recognize and know Me yet?” because He so wants us to know Him, really know Him, and count on Him and trust Him and understand that He really does love us and He’s there for us, even when it’s not always in the way we want and even when we can’t detect Him at work.

But like He did for Philip He’ll answer us without ridicule or disgust because He knows our frame. So for those who are weary of well-doing, who are hurting, who are in despair, who feel overwhelmed, my prayer is “show us the Father.”

Until next time,

Sylvia