O Lord, your unfailing love fills the earth; teach me your decrees. Psalm 119: 64

Strawberries and Other Wonders

In the produce department the other day, I was disappointed to see that the organic strawberries were sold out. There were plenty of non-organic strawberries, but since strawberries are considered one of the "dirty dozen" fruits and vegetables (those sprayed with the most chemicals that soak in and can't be washed off—you don't peel a strawberry!), and I've been trying to "eat clean," I didn't buy strawberries that day. I went home disappointed, lamenting my lack of strawberries for the shortcake and smoothies I'd been envisioning.

Later that evening, when it was cooler, I went to the garden to weed. Lo and behold, in the new bed I'd just established last year, and from which I didn't expect much, if any, fruit this year, there were loads of ripe, red strawberries! Right there in my own backyard. Why hadn't I seen them before? I hadn't looked.

What we aren't expecting, and as a result, aren't looking for, we often don't see. With the exception of rare, dramatic Damascus Road experiences like Saul/Paul's (Acts 9), if we aren't looking for God, it's likely we won't see Him either.

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus walked along with two people who weren't expecting to see him (Luke 24). Why would they be? They knew he'd been crucified. They knew all the stories about him, and even told them to the Lord himself as he walked along with them, but they didn't recognize him because they weren't looking for him.

In contrast, before the crucifixion, Nicodemus, a Jewish leader who believed Jesus was a teacher sent by God, yet who came to Jesus by night to avoid the prying eyes of his colleagues, was looking for answers, the truth about the Messiah (John 3). Later, Nicodemus asked the Jewish council not to convict Jesus before hearing him out (John 7). Of course, we know they didn't listen to him. After the crucifixion, Nicodemus openly went with Joseph of Arimethea to bury Jesus' body, a fact that suggests Nicodemus had found what he was looking for during his conversation with the Lord (John 19).

Comforting the disciples before His death, Jesus explained that after He left this world, the Father would, "give them another Advocate, who [would] never leave [them]"(John 14: 16). Jesus went on to explain the attributes of this Advocate (in some translations called the Comforter).

"He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him" (John 14: 17).

Who are you expecting to see today? Are you like Nicodemus, seeking the truth? Jesus came that we might see the Father. "His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us" (Acts 17:27).

Like those strawberries in my own backyard, a wonderful discovery is not far away. Wouldn't it be a shame to miss it?

Daye Phillippo

June 2018