Seeing Different Angles
You hear about their life from different perspectives
Reference: “The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.” John 6:22 NIV
Explore: While funerals can be very difficult occasions, I am always interested at what comes to light through the eulogy. No matter how well you know someone, there’s often something new to hear when the life story is told.
It’s lovely when a number of people get up to share and you hear about their life from different perspectives. Not one person has experienced everything about the deceased as they’ve shared experiences with many people.
Application: When I was reading the passage from the Bible in John about Jesus walking on the water, I realised everyone had different experiences with Jesus too.
In this one passage we hear of the disciples who saw Jesus walk on the water, the crowd who realised Jesus and his disciples were now all on the other side of the lake (even though Jesus hadn’t entered the boat with his disciples), and a new crowd who had come by boat to see Jesus but found he’d left already. In this one passage we have many different experiences. And that is the same for us today.
We believe Jesus rose from the dead, is still alive and that we can still encounter Him today. And we all do so in different ways.
It’s easy to put one person’s experience of Jesus down because it’s not how we have encountered Him. But that limits Jesus and reduces one person’s faith.
To expand our faith and understanding of Jesus it’s great to share our faith experiences. That way people can see the diversity of God as well as expanding the way people can search for God in their own lives.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for being the type of God who interacts with Your people. May we be more open to You and more intuitive to the ways You connect with us. Amen.
How have you experienced Jesus in your life?
This article was written by Linda Bailey
Linda started theological studies in 1999 in Australia. After working for ten years in various church ministries, she now works as the breakfast producer at 89.9 LightFM - the Christian radio station in Melbourne, Australia. She writes blogs every day about passages she is currently reading in the Bible. Follow her on Google Plus +Linda Bailey or Facebook by clicking the like button on the right of this page.