He knows us...

Yesterday, as a staff and intern team, we studied the Gospel of John. Over the next 3 months, we study John weekly as a team because this is the main passage of Urbana for this year.

As I was studying it yesterday, there were a few realizations that came to mind:

1. John baptized people, knowing he was supposed to baptize the "Lamb of God". Yet, he had no idea who the "Lamb of God" was. He was not told, "When this person comes wearing this, you will know He is the Lamb of God". Instead, he was told, "When you baptize the Lamb of God, the Spirit will remain on Him, then you will know He is the Lamb of God". This is profound because in order to meet Jesus, John had to keep baptizing, trusting God would bring Him eventually.
2. Jesus knows people deeply. When Nathanael first interacts with Jesus, He tells Nathanael that there is nothing deceitful in him. And Nathanael responds with, "How do you know me?". Jesus said something that just hit Nathanael in a way that he had to stop and ask what Jesus knew about him.
   
3. When Philip and Andrew encounter Jesus, they bring others to do the same, namely Nathanael and Peter, respectively. Something happens when the first two experience Jesus, that they have to tell others to meet Him for themselves.

I can see all of these 3 points applying to my ministry in so many ways. I also realized how little faith I have in believing that God knows people deeply, so that when they encounter Him, He will tug at them and ask the question that changes their lives forever. I have lost sight of that and I will be praying through what that means for me in the next few weeks.

God transforms lives. We just need to point people to Him.