Saint Bartholomew, Apostle (Feast)
Jesus saw Nathanael. (John 1:47)
Imagine you’re not feeling well. You haven’t been for several months. You’ve been to several doctors, but to no avail. Finally, you decide to go to a small-town doctor that no one has heard of. Feeling skeptical and expecting very little, you enter the office. Before the physician even shakes your hand, he starts naming your symptoms and their causes—even ones omitted in your medical history. Talk about being “seen” by a doctor! You’d probably start referring all your friends to him!
This might be how Nathanael felt after he met Jesus. Although skeptical at first, Nathanael—also known as Bartholomew—agrees to meet this rabbi from small-town Nazareth. How could anybody important come from there? But when Nathanael comes face-to-face with Jesus, he seems to undergo an instant attitude change. What happened?
With a few words, Jesus reveals to Nathanael that he knows him deeply, even though they have never met. Jesus’ vision is so penetrating that it brings Nathanael to belief.
What did Jesus see? He saw Nathanael’s faithfulness to prayer. “Under the fig tree” was traditionally a place for students of the Torah to sit and contemplate the Scriptures. So Jesus’ comment communicated volumes: I see that you are earnestly seeking the heart of God. I see your devotion to God’s will. Where others might have viewed Nathanael as a joker or a cynic, Jesus saw him as a true child of Israel.
Jesus’ penetrating insight—his divine knowledge—is recorded many times in Scripture. Think of his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well or his healing of the Roman centurion’s servant (John 4:16-19; Matthew 8:13). He sees your heart and your unspoken desires just as clearly! When you patiently seek God’s will, Jesus sees you. When an unspoken prayer crosses your mind, Jesus hears it.
Jesus doesn’t need to run tests to diagnose you. He understands you better than you understand yourself. Ask him today what he sees in your heart. You just might find yourself marveling as Nathanael did, “How do you know me? . . . You are the Son of God!” (John 1:48, 49).
“Jesus, it is marvelous to be known by you. Help me to see myself as you see me.”
Revelation 21:9-14
Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18
Daily Marriage Tip for August 24, 2016:
Instead of becoming quickly offended by your spouse’s words, ask for clarity first.