Truth Made Visible

“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty…a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’” 2 Peter 1:16-17

From the moment I took my first breath to this morning, I have been eyewitness to the manner in which my parents lived out their lives. I can share story after story from 60 years of watching choices they made…love they shared…the character and integrity in which they lived. People who had limited contact with my parents might have known of them through stories and limited interaction, but they didn’t know them through continual experiences with them. I know the truths of their lives instead of just stories I have heard from others.

Peter played a pivotal role in testifying to the grace and ministry of Jesus after His death and resurrection. Three years prior he was fishing for a living when this stranger approached him and invited him to join His cause. There was something about that man named Jesus that was worth leaving everything behind. He walked with Him, ate with Him, laughed with Him, and watched the interaction of Jesus with the sick, the lost, and the sinful. Peter didn’t just hear stories of Jesus, he witnessed them. It is no doubt that when he wrote the communications to the churches that he was shepherding, he reminded them of this. His message was rooted in the truth of Jesus as it was not only taught by Jesus but exemplified by His walk while on earth. I’m confident God was fully aware that we needed something visible to take hold of if we wanted to truly walk in righteousness.

So many of our prayers are for God to show us His will for our lives, when in reality He already has…He showed us through the expression of Jesus. What pleases God are the things that were walked out on earth by the feet of Christ. God knew that without the Spirit of Jesus we would fall short so He shared that precious Holy Spirit with you and with me. We now have the same message and knowledge of Jesus within us to bear witness of His majesty. It is remarkable that the Excellent Glory loved us enough to give us the visible teaching of Christ. We can intimately know Jesus instead of just knowing of Him.