Is there an authority figure in your life? Was one of your parents a person who always seemed to be in control and someone you aspired to be like? Is there someone who has had a significant impact on your life? Do you continue to try to live up to the image of that person?
Many of us had role models we looked up to as kids. Sometimes that role model was a parent. Other times the role model was someone we saw from a distance. Whomever it was, we thought they had it all together. They were a person we wanted to be like when we grew up.
That person may still have an impact on our lives. The impressions we had as a young child may continue to influence our lives more than we realize. We may even think like that person. It may feel as though part of them is living within us. This is as close as we can come to understanding Jesus’ quote in today’s passage.
Jesus states the Father was in Him. He says the very words He speaks come from the Father. Not only that but the Father dwells within Him. Jesus tells His disciples the Father is working through Him. Though we may get a glimpse of what this means by having a similar personality of a parent, in the case of Jesus and the Father, they are one.
The disciples are told to believe what Jesus says, but if they won’t, at least believe because of the miracles He did. This is an admonition for us as well. Since there are eyewitness accounts, we should believe based on the miracles Jesus performed, even if we don’t believe everything He said. Generally speaking, we are no different than the disciples who heard Jesus. We sometimes misinterpret what He said. We may think some of His statements are over blown or exaggerated. So, if our faith isn’t strongly based on His words, it should be strengthened by what He did.
I pray we all believe Jesus. I pray we believe the Father and Son are one. I pray each one of us will have our faith strengthened based on Jesus words and the miracles He performed. Believe Jesus. Know the Father and Son are one. Believe Jesus’ words. Believe in Jesus’ miracles. Strengthen your faith.
John 14:10-11 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.”
Marty Pressey 