Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father.” John 14:8 (NLT)
Jesus came to “show us the Father.” That was his goal as he walked here on earth. He embodied the Father in human form. And we are supposed to imitate him in all we do living our lives so people can see God in us through our words, actions and responses to what life throws at us.
Do we? When I first thought about this I thought about how hard that would be. I mean, I am not Jesus. He can reflect the Father perfectly because he is after all, God. But before I dismissed this as something I couldn’t do, verse twelve caught my eye.
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works.” Uh oh.
Does that mean that since I believe in Jesus and look to him for my example (as the disciples did), that I can reflect the Father? Can people see me, watch my life and say “She reflected God”?
Apparently, Jesus thought so.
In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:16
And elsewhere in the Bible we are given the same mandate.
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Philippians 1:9-11
Please note, the Bible never said living all out for Jesus would be easy. It’s not. But it does tell us that when we stay focused on him and live our life the way he lived his, we will glorify God. We will make a difference. The highest compliment you can ever get is if someone says “I can see Jesus in you.” And that should always be our goal.