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The Journey

Don’t you understand? (John 3:1-13)

One of my greatest sources of pride is I feel I am fairly smart. Not really of genius level but I have the abilit to adapt quickly and have the desire to know. Probably the greatest insult to me is to question my intelligence. I know I’m sounding really conceded right now, but hey its best to be honest. And that’s what I think about myself right or wrong. So as I imagine the passage of John 3:1-13, I imagine the personality of Nicodemus. Jesus basicaly insulted this guy. He is a pharisee which in todays terms he’d have a phd in some form of ethical/religious studies. He was not uneducated by any means. Yet Jesus didn’t study under any of the teacher known by Nicodemus so I would probably have to question Jesus as well if I were in his shoes.

The thing is Jesus really doesn’t let Nicodemus ask his question but really cuts right in to show the lacking knowledge of Nicodemus. I believe Nicodemus approached this insult on his inteligence much better than I would have.

What was the insult? “Are you a teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?” Not exactly an insult to most people but if one is priding themselves in their knowledge then questioning that knowledge is insulting.  

As I have matured I have come to realize I don’t know much. And that it is better to listen to other people than to attempt to teach them something right off. I love to learn and I will for as long as I can. But Jesus does challenge me and almost insults me here. How and of who am I gaining my knowledge? And what do I use it for.

True knowledge is the love of God. And to seek Him is to seek wisdom. But we can know a lot and be very far from God relationally. This is what Jesus points out. We have to have the Spirit of God activly working in and with us, while at the same time connecting us to God. Embracing that Spirit connects us, allows us to gain knowledge, and inspires us to pursue the passions of God. Yet often we neglect this Light within and instead pursue the opposite, which drives us farther from Christ.

Today conider what you find insulting, and where you are seeking knowledge.

Pray that the Spirit of God wil grant you the grace of wisdom and a deeper relationship with Jesus.

About jwquaker

I’m sure everyone wants to know who I am…well if you are viewing this page you do. I’m Jared Warner and I am a pastor or minister recorded in the Evangelical Friends Church Mid America Yearly Meeting. To give a short introduction to the EFC-MA, it is a group of evangelical minded Friends in the Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. We are also a part of the larger group called Evangelical Friends International, which as the name implies is an international group of Evangelical Friends. For many outside of the Friends or Quaker traditions you may ask what a recorded minister is: the short answer is that I have demistrated gifts of ministry that our Yearly Meeting has recorded in their minutes. To translate this into other terms I am an ordained pastor, but as Friends we believe that God ordaines and mankind can only record what God has already done. More about myself: I have a degree in crop science from Fort Hays State University, and a masters degree in Christian ministry from Friends University. Both of these universities are in Kansas. I lived most of my life in Kansas on a farm in the north central area, some may say the north west. I currently live and minister in the Kansas City, MO area and am a pastor in a programed Friends Meeting called Willow Creek Friends Church.

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