April 6, 2009

• Under the Tree

  Thoughts from John 1:43ff (Clicking this will open to the verse in a new tab.) This verse is about Phillip's introduction of Jesus to Nathaniel.

  I've read this account many times before, but for some reason, this time around, a question jumped out at me and hit me.

  What happened under the fig tree? It must've been more than just an impression of Divine knowledge or a affirmation of "you're a nice guy," that impressed Nathaniel. It takes more than just a simple, "I have super-good vision," to move a heart to burst out into a confession of faith. Particularly from a man who, moments earlier, questioned whether or not this same Jesus was a crock. (Nazareth was no place for someone who was purportedly of royal lineage to come out of.) So what transpired under the tree? What was it that caught Nathaniel's mind and heart?

  Perhaps Jesus saw Nathaniel struggle under that tree. Perhaps it was that there was a certain prayer that was lifted up; a request, or a plea. Perhaps it was that there were some intense words that were exchanged. Perhaps divinity and humanity clashed mightily. Perhaps they struggled. Or perhaps there was a beautiful communion of God and man under that tree. Perhaps Nathaniel asked to be pure and noble, and claimed promises of freedom from deception and guilt. Perhaps the greeting of, "Behold, a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false," was a "inside" statement that meant something deeper to Nathaniel than to anyone else. The book 'Desire of Ages' states that Nathaniel was praying and meditating on the prophesies of Christ and was specifically praying about the deliverer that John the Baptist had spoken of. What the exact contents of those prayers were however, we won't know for a while.

  Whatever the case was, when Jesus said to Nathaniel, "I saw you..." it seemed to imply that it was in more than just the physical sense. It seemed that Jesus' address to Nathaniel was familiar--like a meeting between two folk who had parted in the not-too-distant past. His address was not, "And who's your friend, Philip?" but a, "Good to see you again, friend-of-mine-whose-heart-I-know." It was as though Jesus was telling Nathaniel, "I have heard your prayers, and this is your answer. Your search is over. I am here."

  And Nathaniel? His response was one which rang of surprise. It was a question of intrusion: When were you a partaker of my life? How do you know the thoughts of my heart? How were you privy to my thoughts? When did you have a chance to eavesdrop on that conversation? "How is it that you know who I am?" This question bypassed humility and pride. It bypassed the surprise of an unusual greeting. It cut through to what Nathaniel was responding to: hope. Could this be the man, for real? The Son of God Himself? The answer to his secret prayers?

  Have you had these encounters with God? I don't mean the second encounter--I mean the first: the encounter with God under the tree. When you spoke with Him--or when you thought He wasn't watching. When you thought you were alone in the struggle. When you thought...

  The most amazing thing about God is that he always defies our expectations. When we think, "What good can come out of Nazareth?" When God does not fit our mold, and when we simply don't want to believe. He knows us. He hears us. He is willing and able--exceeding abundantly so-- to fill our heart's desires when we do what Nathaniel did and 'come and see' for ourselves.

  It is apt that often it is a different tree under which we find ourselves being found of Christ. It is this tree, this Cross that 'liftest up my head,' this Cross that holds so much mystery, wonder, and love for some and hate and spite for others. (1 Cor. 2:13f)

  Sometimes it is our personal biases that keep us from coming. If Nathaniel had stopped with "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" It would have been another regular day for him. But it so happened that his life changed completely instead. If our prejudices and misconceptions about Christ are what keeps us from having a deeper understanding of who He wants to be in our life... the call is simple: come and see.

  And what is there to see? A God who defies boundaries, expectations, boxes, cubby holes, molten images, imaginations on high places, book bindings, stories, traditions, laws (natural or otherwise) ... He has power over the things that have power over us: doubt, temptations, sin, pain, habits, thoughts, self... He has power over demons and devils, cherubim and seraphim, life and death. The earth, the sea, the dry land, and everything in it and around it are subject to His voice. He has power over things we can't control, things we've ruined, things we've neglected, things we admire, things we envy...

  And we thought we could understand it all. If we bought enough books. If we studied more. If we argued. If we denied. If we put it all under a microscope and shook our heads at it.

  So here I am, under this tree. Grateful that He continues to teach me. Grateful that I have a God who is truly a God: wonderful, mysterious, kind, loving, long-suffering, gentle... He is my Rock of Ages, cleft for me. I can hide in Him. I can trust Him. He has been that Unchanging One amid the storms of life, and I know He ever will continue to be.

  • 7:59 pm
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