Lent Devotional Day 3

Day 3
Friday, February 24

John 1:35-51
35 The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus walking along he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus.

38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, “What are you looking for?”They said, “Rabbi (which is translated Teacher), where are you staying?” 39 He replied, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon.

40 One of the two disciples who heard what John said and followed Jesus was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Christ[a] ). 42 He led him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter). 43 The next day Jesus wanted to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. Jesus said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.

45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law and the Prophets: Jesus, Joseph’s son, from Nazareth.”46 Nathanael responded, “Can anything from Nazareth be good?” Philip said, “Come and see.”

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here is a genuine Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” 48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are God’s Son. You are the king of Israel.”

50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these! 51 I assure you that you will see heaven open and God’s angels going up to heaven and down to earth on the Human One.”



Reflection

I remember the first friend I made when I was almost 5 years old. There was this house that backed to the hilltop of our dead end street. They had a HUGE pool in their backyard. One day, I saw a little redhead bobbing in and out of the water of their pool and thought, “I bet she’d let me swim”. So, I donned my bathing suit, grabbed a towel and trotted up the street to her backyard gate. I called to her, “Hey! Wanna be friends? I can swim!” She didn’t think twice before climbing out of the pool, running to me, opening the gate and letting me in. And the rest is history. This toothy-grinned, knock-kneed girl with wild red hair and a lively spirit to match became my childhood best friend. We did everything together. We created so many memories that live on to this day. I am honored to have had her friendship in my formative years and am so grateful for the “yes” she gave me when I asked if we could be friends. 

Knowing Jesus, I have to assume the disciples He called to share life with Him were intentional, not in the random way I made my best friend when I was a child. He shows them they were KNOWN to Him before they even met. They very quickly began to realize that Jesus was no ordinary Rabbi and that He was the Messiah (though they didn’t quite understand what that meant). Jesus invited them to into a ministry they had no experience in, and a world they couldn’t have imagined would be unfolded before them. And they did. They brought others along, and remained a close group of friends throughout the years. 

In His calling of the disciples, Jesus shows us that deep friendships can be forged with even the most unlikely of matches. There is beauty in living life alongside those that have different perspectives and offer different approaches. Jesus shows us the importance of diversity within our own friendships and how imperative it is that we do life with others. Getting to know other grown-ups may not be as easy as coming to a swimming pool already wearing a swimsuit, but walking through each day with others alongside is worth the effort. Jesus is calling us with intention into relationship with Him and with others around us. He knows us deeply, and wants us to know and be known by others. 

Prayer

Lord, I thank you that you know us so intimately. I pray that you help us intentionally seek out others to genuinely live life with. Help us to see that in this we will experience support, encouragement, building up of faith, love, and connection that cannot be found elsewhere. Give us the openness and boldness to know and be known by those around us. Guide us into deeper relationships as we follow you more closely. - Amen

By Jessica Broombaugh