Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. (ESV)

When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, why do we struggle and fight it? Let’s go back in time a bit, and for some of us that’s a bit longer than others, to when you were a little kid. Think about the first time you saw the trees bowing over. You might have asked your parent what was happening, and they probably told you that it was the wind. Maybe they even explained a bit more, saying wind is caused by high and low pressures on the Earth.  

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It's not something we can see, and yet, we took them at their word and had a level of belief: it may have been that there is wind and who knows how it happens, or maybe the investigative-minded people dug into it a bit more. I don’t know about you, but there are a lot of things in this world I just don’t have the brain power or, let’s be real, the desire to really dig into. Sure, I will never be an astrophysicist, yet I still push back and think I know better when I hear things the Creator of the universe says.  

In today’s verse, Phillip asks a seemingly simple question: How do we get to know the Father? Sounds like a simple and good question to ask, right? Well, think of it a bit differently: Phillip had been with Jesus for almost three years, hearing him talk and teach, seeing miracles happen – actually talking to God incarnate. Yet here he is, asking how do we see the Father – he hadn’t fully believed that Jesus was God. Jesus basically says (in my own words), Dude, what’s it going to take for you to let go of your ideals and believe me? You have been with me for so long and heard me say this over and over - when you get to know me, you get to know the Father.

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What is it that we don’t seem to get? Why can’t we take the Creator of the universe at his word? I can take the word of some guy on how a star implodes, but when the God who made the star says I love you and I want to spend eternity with you, I second-guess it.  

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So today, maybe Jesus is asking you the same question he asked his friend and follower Phillip so long ago: What’s it going to take for you to see me and believe what I have been saying to you?  

God, you are the Creator of the universe! You saw us before we were even a thought in our parents’ minds, and you have a path and plan for us all. God, I pray we are awakened to you in a way that breaks down our doubts so we can fully believe you in every corner of our hearts. Amen.