You are Philip

We, including those who go to church all 52 Sundays of the year, still don’t have a deep revelation of who Jesus is. We are Philip. You are Philip.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me?” – John 14:9 (NRSV)

There’s not a Sunday that you are not in church. You are a devoted steward. You never miss Bible Study. You sing in the choir. A keen member of this group and that committee. You’re even on the tea party organizing committee. Talk about a dedicated congregant, put up your hand because it is you, yet you still don’t have a clue.

So caught up in the doing, you completely miss the knowing. And, because you do not know Him, you cannot trust Him. So you worry about everything. And, because you do not know Him, you cannot see His hand at work, especially in the menial. And, because you do not know Him, you criticize and complain endlessly. And, because you do not know Him, you do not see Him, even though He has been among you all this time.

You stared Him straight in the face, but you did not recognize Him.

You did not recognize Him in the man who stopped to help you when your car broke down.

You did not recognize Him in the woman behind you in line at the supermarket, who gave you a dollar when your bill came up to 50 cents more than you had.

You did not recognize Him when only 27 boxes of food remained but there were 28 people to feed, and suddenly someone comes up saying, “Oh sorry but I miscalculated, here, I have an extra box.”

You did not recognize Him in the contractor, who, working on a building next to your financially strapped church rebuilds the entire soon-to-collapse-if not repaired now adjoining wall at absolutely no cost whatsoever to the church.

You did not recognize Him in the young gas station attendant who asked, “Are you okay? I can see that you’re not having a good day but don’t worry it will all work out. You should go home and rest.”

You are Philip.

You believe that God only shows up in the big things, not recognizing that God can show up anywhere, anytime and however He pleases. You have fashioned Him in your own image, boxed Him in, given Him limitations and decided what He should look like. So, if He doesn’t come in what you have created, then it could not be Him.

Philip was with Jesus at the time of Jesus, so in a way we could kind of excuse him, but we have been given the “better” part as we have the opportunity to read all about Him, to study Him as the Word and to form a wonderful relationship with Him through the working of His own powerful Spirit in us, the ultimate Teacher.

You are missing out because you’re so fixated on the doing. The doing is not a bad thing but when it’s all you concentrate on then you are blind to the knowing. I am sure that you don’t want to be calling out, “Lord, Lord!” for Jesus to turn around, take a good peer at you and say, “Hmm, I don’t know you”

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you who behave lawlessly.’” – Matthew 7:22-23 (NRSV)

We all need to check ourselves. Do we know Him? Can we recognize Him? What is hindering us from getting to know Jesus? Are all the “many mighty works” we’re doing the hindrance? Are we really doing the will of the Father or of the church or our own will?

Verse 21 says,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."

 

 

Shelley Johnson “You are Philip” © February 2, 2025