Wisdom snippets: Monkey see, monkey do

 

Jn 5:19-21, So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will.

Jesus could raise the dead and perform all sorts of signs because His Father, GOD, showed Him EVERYTHING He did. And He showed Him because He loved Him. Jesus promised that we could/would do everything He did, and more (Jn 14:12). But, just like Him, we should not do ANYTHING of our own accord and ANYTHING without Him (Jn 15:5). In other words, we should not go anywhere or do anything without Him, neither in thought nor in action. However, we can equally become miracle agents if we observe what He does and copy it. Indeed, if we imitate Jesus as He imitates GOD, we eventually imitate GOD as well. This implies intimacy and friendship; because one cannot copy from afar. You need to be as close as possible to hear, see and copy well. Besides, people only reveal their secrets to friends and not to strangers. People are only transparent with their friends and Jesus is willing to make known everything that He has learned from His Father to His friends. To enjoy the LORD’s intimacy and friendship, we need to remain in His presence. And, to desire His presence enough to wish to remain in it, we must love Him wholeheartedly; for love is like a drug which shifts all our thoughts and affections towards the loved one. And when you love, prayer, praise, worship, thanksgiving, service, obedience and the meditation of GOD’s Word – all the things that nurture GOD’s presence –, come naturally and effortlessly. In summary, we can do what Jesus did and even more. We just have to:

1. Believe that it is possible because He said so
2. Become His friends and intimates in order to see / understand what He does and reproduce it: that’s photocopying.

I pray that you discover something new to copy and reproduce in His Presence this week. GOD bless!