Skip to main content
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the hometown of Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and told him,
"We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law (and so did the prophets): 
Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth."
"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Nathanael asked him.
John 1:44-46 CSB
Not sure if Nathanael was from Bethsaida as well, but he certainly wasn't from Nazareth!
His comment gives  insight into the person Nathanael was; arrogant, quick to judge, quick to pigeon hole someone because of where they come from.
Everyone from there is the same.
And none of it is good.

And as I've thought about Nathanael I've realised that I'm the same.
There's countries that I've called basket cases.
There's towns I'd never want to live in.
There's suburbs I'd at least in my mind call "Nazareth". Nothing good can come from there. 
That streak of arrogance runs in me.
Yet Jesus was one of "them", from "there".
By pigeon holing people, categorising, means I don't have to enter in, to see "them" as image bearers, as people Jesus loves, as people just like me, a distorted image bearer, but also a beloved child of God.
Jesus gently reminds me that there are no "them", just us. 
#itsaheartthing
#lovepeople

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,  for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can't see - such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16 NLT OK so this is an English translation of a letter Paul wrote to a church 2,000 years ago, but does it feel like Paul is wrestling with words and ideas to try and capture all of who Jesus is, of who God is, of how does it work that the walking around Jesus was also there before the beginning of the beginning of everything we can see and touch and know. Not only that but Jesus was somehow the agent of everything that has been made in the physical, social, and spiritual.  Jesus is at the centre of it all.  Walking around Jesus. Cooking fish for breakfast Jesus. Heart aching as he ...
Post a Comment
Read more
...four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus... Mark 2:3-4 NLT Great account of inventiveness and determination to get their friend to see Jesus. Love this. Do you wonder about the back story? Are these the same 4 people who bring this man food? Take him to the toilet every day. Clean him up. Does he live with one of them? Are they family? Are there whole families or groups of people in the background who have supported and cared for this man? A group of children who grew up seeing their parents love in action? Probably. Healing Help Hope These things are found in community. These 4 guys are the heroes here. The upfront people. One day it will be interesting to see who the background heroes are. #loveinaction #community #inthistogether #walkingeachotherhome #gospelofmark
Post a Comment
Read more
As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him.  "Listen," he said,  "we're going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law.  They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked,  flogged with a whip,  and crucified.  But on the third day he will be raised from the dead." Matthew 20:17-20 NLT Jesus wanted his team, those closest to him, to know what was going to happen next.  It seems he wanted them to be prepared.  To be able to hold the hope of what's at the end as they go through the watching him be betrayed, sentenced, mocked, abused, and killed.  I wonder if Jesus needed to tell them, to let those he knew best what was ahead because he needed them with him. Jesus wanted community in the most difficult of times. It's no wonder that we do too.  We're in...
Post a Comment
Read more