It’s a routine day at Grandpa and Grandma’s. A brightly colored skyscraper of towering Duplo blocks decorates the middle of the living room. Grandpa has taken time off from his Foot-a-eat-asourous duties, which explains the six cartoon-charactered socks and six empty shoes scattered about. A row of cars line an imaginary road transitioning the doorway into the kitchen.
And from there comes a three-year-old’s discovery.
“Clifford!”
He holds high a book with a big red dog on the cover, like raising a trophy in triumph.
I’ve read about the big red dog throughout seasons of life with my kids and theirs, enough to feel I’ve personally petted that bright red fur. In fact, my grandson could probably recite its pages to me. He tucks the Clifford book under his arm like a business man, walks purposefully across the room and catapults himself onto the couch. I’d been slumped quite comfortably there before his body surfed in, kinda like a bedtime toy without its stuffing.
“Gamma,” he says. “Read Clifford.”
I look into his eyes two inches from mine. He wiggles until everything fits just so. Clifford, still held high in his hand through all the squirms, drops onto my lap.
I look down at my little blonde blue-eyed disturbance with a smile. He knows me. I love reading books to my grandkids. He’s confident Clifford will beckon me from its pages to attention. He has had experience in the past that tells him that Gamma reads book after book, and with that assurance he waits.
In a different setting, Jesus’ disciples sat at attention around their Master while he instructed them about dark days ahead. He told them He was going away, but not to be afraid, a place prepared for them awaited.
“I am the way, the truth and the life,” He declared to the men he’d chosen as his disciples. They thought they knew Him well. They could pick Him out in a crowd. His laugh, His voice, His mannerisms were familiar. They’d shared life together, traveling, eating, sleeping. He taught them. They worked side by side. When crowds pressed in on Him, they listened too. He raised people from the dead and healed the sick. They’d seen how he lived, believed what He taught.
They knew Jesus, they thought.
“No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.” (Jn. 14:6-7 NIV)
And then Philip had to go and stick his foot into his mouth, “Show us the Father, and that will be enough,” he said. (Jn. 14:8 NIV)
You see, Philip’s words showed just how little he had understood of Jesus because Jesus spent His time on earth showing them the Father.
“If you see Me,” He told them, “you see the Father.” (Jn. 14:7)
Some of my grandchildren are die-hard Cardinals fans, so if I give them a KC Royals t-shirt, they might wonder if I know them all that well.
One of my granddaughters hates fish. If I take her to a seafood dinner for her birthday, she would probably look at me like I was losing it.
“You want to go backpacking in the Appalachians with the bears?” I would repeat in shock if the suggestion came from my husband. Do you know the woman you married, I might think?
I wonder if there was a silence after Philip’s question.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?” John 14:9 NKJV
Perhaps in Jesus’ tone the disciples heard sadness, surprise disappointment maybe even pain.
Knowing Jesus is the pinnacle of our purpose. He doesn’t want us satisfied by mere acquaintance. Skimming the shallow surface of Jesus results in a paltry comfortableness with a Good Man who lived once upon a time. It’s a dangerous place to sit.
C. S. Lewis famously said, “Jesus Christ was either a liar, a lunatic, or He was who He said He was.”
And Jesus says to all of us, “I am The Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” Jn. 14:6 NKJV
Jesus claims an uncompromising exclusivity which disturbs our souls. He doesn’t present us with a comfortable multiple choice.
“Do you know Me?” He asks us.
The deeper we go with Jesus, the more we get to know Him. The more we get to know Him, the greater our love for Him. The greater our love for Him the more we want to know Him.
I finish reading about Clifford, the Big Red Dog. My grandson trots off to look for another book, because Gamma is good for another. He knows me so well.
Lois S.
Our grandchildren know us so well in some ways, and not at all in others. My grandchildren know also that I am good for book after book. But not very much about my history, my daily activities, etc. Perhaps as us with Jesus.
Sylvia Schroeder
What an interesting observation! It’s so true, we do often pick and choose what we like to know about another, but when we dig more, we become better acquainted. As with Jesus. Thanks so much for bringing that insight Lois!
Rachel Ripley
I like your comments and helps for bible wisdom, today its needed very much. I’m at an age where pensions are my lot in life and I do enjoy hearing from you folks.
Have great day Sylvia.
Sylvia Schroeder
Thank you Rachel. Thanks so much for reading and responding!
Nancy E. Head
I love this! Our kids and grandkids know us well. Jesus wants us to go deep and understand Him well too. Thanks, Sylvia. God bless!
Sylvia Schroeder
Thank you Nancy! I do want to know Him better and I love that He invites me to do so! I so appreciate your comment!
Marilyn Krehbiel
Syl, God has so gifted you with deep insights of HIM through Your day by day activities!!! Yes, I love read books to our grandkids also. Yes, the more I dig deeper in knowing our LORD…. the more I have to learn. “O taste & see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in HIM.” Many blessings to you, dear Syl!!!
Sylvia Schroeder
Thanks Marilyn. How did we get so old??? I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment!
Barbara Latta
Thanks for sharing your lovely time with your grandchildren. Your example shows us how well we know each other, but how little we may know the Savior of our souls. Knowing Jesus is the adventure of a lifetime and we should continue to follow Him step by step learning along the way.
Sylvia Schroeder
Barbara, I love your comment that knowing Jesus is the adventure of a lifetime. It is most definitely that and all our lives it continues. Thanks!
Jeannie Waters
Sylvia, I love your Gamma stories and the way you connect them to God’s truths. I’m thankful God knows us so well and leads us to know Him better.
Annie Yorty
What a sweet post with an excellent point. May I never stop learning more about Jesus.
Sylvia Schroeder
Amen Annie! Thank you!
Yvonne Morgan
I love these kind of times with the grandkids. We can learn so much. I pray to always feel so welcome and happy at the feet of Jesus as a child of God
Sylvia Schroeder
Thank you Yvonne! I agree with that prayer!
Katherine Pasour
My grandchildren know me, too, I’m a reader. I smiled when I saw which book you were reading of Clifford. That was one of the favorites for my children and I still have it to read to my grands (you probably have that stash from your children, too). But you moved so smoothly into reminding us that, like the disciples, we likely don’t know Jesus as well as we think we do. But He knows us! And loves us in spite of who we are and what we have done. We are so blessed. Thank you for this message. It brought a smile and cherished memories.
Sylvia Schroeder
Thank you Katherine. I always love the connections I find with you! I appreciate your insight and experiences.