50-51Jesus said, “You’ve become a believer simply because I say I saw you one day sitting under the fig tree? You haven’t seen anything yet! Before this is over you’re going to see heaven open and God’s angels descending to the Son of Man and ascending again.”
There are times when I am silenced by what I am seeing. Sitting on Ram’s Head looking over the New River Gorge is a sight that took my breath away. I regret not being able to sit there for a long while and capture more of God’s beauty. It was a beautiful sight to see how God’s hand carved out a gorge for us to enjoy and to learn of his majesty.
I put myself in Nathaniel’s sandals this morning. It would have been enough to see Jesus. Even so, to get near him and carry on a conversation with him would be more invigorating. However, to hear him tell me that he saw me under a fig tree when I knew good and well he couldn’t have seen him like you and I see things would have been an unbelievable moment. Nathaniel experienced something supernatural. His heart would have been beating a thousand miles per hour. It would have been like the woman at the well when Jesus told her she had five men. How in the world did he know.
However, the phrase that blew me away this morning was, “you haven’t seen anything yet”. Jesus tells Nathaniel that he would see angles ascending and descending to Him. One minute Nathaniel could only see what his flesh could see and now he was promised to see things that only God can do. I can’t imagine what was going on inside. There would be excitement. There must have been awe. What would his eyes see?
God loves to surprise. You haven’t seen anything yet! Moreover, I don’t want to miss any of it. Open my eyes Lord!
Let all mortal flesh keep silence,
and with fear and trembling stand;
ponder nothing earthly minded,
for with blessing in his hand
Christ our God to earth descendeth,
our full homage to demand.
King of kings, yet born of Mary,
as of old on earth he stood,
Lord of lords in human vesture,
in the Body and the Blood
he will give to all the faithful
his own self for heavenly food.
At his feet the six-winged seraph;
cherubim with watchful eye,
veil their faces to the Presence,
as with ceaseless voice they cry,
“Alleluia, alleluia!
Alleluia, Lord Most High!”
