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“He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21
I was having a conversation with a Christian friend of mine and we were talking about many things and the verse above came up. He said he had listened to someone who was talking about Christ manifesting Himself to believers, which is what the Greek word for ‘disclose’ means.
Now, my friend was saying that the person he listened to was saying that Christ will visually manifest Himself, as in – you literally see Jesus.
I know that there are many stories of people in the Middle East getting saved because Jesus has come to them in their dreams and told them the Gospel. That would definitely be a manifestation. And I believe it has happened.
However, the verse in John is clearly talking about a manifestation to those who know Jesus, not those who don’t.
So the question is… how does Jesus ‘disclose’ or ‘manifest’ Himself to a believer?
I think there are a number of ways. And this leads into my story of a nickel in the grass.
I was in my last year of college and I had recently come to Christ as my Savior. So I was a brand new Christian.
One day I was walking across campus toward the main administration building and I had to make an urgent phone call. I have no recollection about who I had to call or why. All I remember is that it was urgent, and I was moving very fast, cutting across the grass.
There were no cell phones back then, and pay phones cost 10 or 15 cents for local calls. Whatever the price was, I was short a nickel and I obviously felt like I needed it right now!
So I prayed. I asked the Lord to somehow get me a nickel so I could immediately make the phone call when I got to the building straight ahead of me.
I remember it was only about a few steps after I started praying, and as I’m scurrying with my head down, there it was.
I hit the brakes and couldn’t believe it. Right there in the grass, right in front of me, was a nickel!
I’m still blown away by that ‘event’ today. God put that nickel right where it needed to be for the exact time I needed it.
I’ve told this story to many people over the years. Did Jesus disclose Himself to me? I say, yes He did.
I don’t believe that John 14:21 is specifically referring to a visible manifestation such as Jesus’ appearing to the disciples after His resurrection. Although, I surely give God all the room to do that today if He chooses! But I think Jesus was referring to a spiritual disclosure by the Holy Spirit living in us.
Jesus discloses, or reveals Himself as we seek Him in His Word. That I can say without doubt. He also reveals Himself to us through other believers. And when we have the Holy Spirit, we can see Jesus revealed in things like creation, history and fulfillment of prophecy (Israel becoming a nation again comes to mind).
But you must have the Holy Spirit to be able to understand these revelations, or disclosures.
“I shall remember the deeds of the Lord”
Answered prayer is certainly a way Jesus discloses Himself. And for me, when I was an infant Christian, the Lord was kind enough to answer that prayer for a nickel when I really needed it. And the benefit of that answered prayer has carried me through many difficult situations since then.
As we get older in the faith, and God tests that faith (and He does – 1 Pet. 1:7), it’s important that we be able to fall back on the past where the Lord has demonstrated His faithfulness to us, so that we can remember and stand firm.
That is what Asaph is saying in Psalm 77. He said he will remember the deeds and wonders of the Lord, and he will meditate on them, because it was a trying time. In vs. 7-11, Asaph is wondering out loud, “Has God forgotten to be gracious?”.
And then he comforts himself by remembering the works of the Lord, and he recounts them. And he knows that the Lord is with him.
I believe we all, as Christians, have those personal stories or memories to recall – like a nickel in the grass.