Readings for the Day:
Sermon:
Original Manuscript:
I remember one of my elementary physical education teachers very well, partly because he was my favorite. We'll call him Coach Bob. Coach Bob was kind. He made you want to learn. He made you want to get stronger just by how he acted.
And Coach Bob's kindness eventually lead him to take a position in an African country. I can't remember where exactly or what he was doing specifically. I just remember he saw a need and jumped at the chance to help.
About a year or two later, he came back and visited our school. We were all very excited to see him. I was particularly excited to see him again. And it had been a long enough time that I asked if he remembered me.
And, I'll never forget, he looked at me and said "Oh Trey, I couldn't forget you."
I'm not sure if it was how he said it or my own lack of self esteem, but I thought maybe he was saying I was some weird kid. That it was something wrong or negative in me that made me so memorable. But Coach Bob quickly assured me, with his kind demeanor that such was not the case at all.
We have a similar reaction when we approach God. We're not sure if He cares enough about us to know who we are specifically. And if He does, it is easy for us to believe that it is because of something faulty or wrong with us.
That's why there's so much surprise in Nathanael when he meets Jesus in the Gospel this morning. Not only does Jesus know Him, but He knows the best part about him.
Yes, God does know all our faults, maybe even better than we know them ourselves. But God also sees into the core of our being. He sees the good inside of us waiting to be let out. God sees the true us, the part of us that is how He intend us to be, the part of us that is good and wholesome.
God knows us, and there is great comfort in that. God knows us and is reaching out to us, just as Jesus reached out to Nathanael. God knows us, and He wants us to know Him as well.
We see God reaching out more fully in our lesson from 1 Samuel. We see God reaching out so that Samuel can know Him so much that Samuel hears God calling him. God is reaching out so deeply that Samuel can hear it, physically.
The problem for Samuel is that he is still inexperienced in listening to God. He doesn't know what it is he's hearing. He assumes, as many of us might, that the voice calling him is his teacher and mentor Eli.
It is fortunate that Samuel has Eli, though. Thanks to Eli's teaching and mentoring, Samuel is able to discover that the voice he is hearing is God's voice. Thanks to Eli he knows what he is listening to, and he knows how to respond. Would that all our teachers could do the same.
God knows us. He sees who we are, He sees the part of us at the center away from the sin that covers and pollutes our lives. He sees us as we were meant to be. He sees us as we are recreated in Christ Jesus.
God is also reaching out to us so that we can know Him.
The question for us is "will we let Him? Will we let God in so that we can know Him?" Like with Samuel, sometimes it takes a teacher or mentor to help us get to that point. But are we striving to listen? Or do we simply not want to hear?
God came down and was willing to die to bring us back to Him so that we could know Him more fully and deeply. Stop and think. Do you want to give Him that chance to do so? Do you want to give God the chance to let you know Him too?