Yogi Berra once said:
You can observe a lot by just watching. (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/y/yogi_berra.html)
This is true!!! However, you can't know everything by just watching. Consider this picture for just a moment; if you were standing on the rock ledge in the upper part of the picture, you may or may not be able to see the rocks below. So, where you are standing makes a difference as to what you can see!!! The same thing is true with people- you may or may not be able to see who they really are; I mean, inside. Sometimes you can know a person for many years and then they do something that completely surprises you and you to wonder if you ever really knew them at all! Then, there is this passage from the book of 1st Corinthians...
1 Corinthians 2:1-11 NASB
(1) And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
(2) For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
(3) I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
(4) and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
(5) so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
(6) Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
(7) but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
(8) the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
(9) but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."
(10) For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
(11) For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
(1) And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
(2) For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
(3) I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,
(4) and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,
(5) so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
(6) Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
(7) but we speak God's wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
(8) the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
(9) but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."
(10) For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.
(11) For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.
Who am I? This is a question that almost everyone asks at one time or another. I think that this question changes over time, as we progress in our lives. And the thing is- no one really knows how you change but you (and of course, God). But, what about God? Do we really know HIM? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because the Spirit has revealed him through the medium of the Scriptures. And No, because those characteristics that are absolute (such as eternality, purity, omnipotence, omniscience, etc..) are beyond our absolute comprehension because only God has them. BUT, God did send Jesus, so that we might have a glimpse of what God in human flesh would be and that will have to be enough!!! And when HE speaks, we should listen...
Matthew 28:18 NASB
(18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
(18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
John 12:45-50 NASB
(45) "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
(46) "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
(47) "If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
(48) "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
(49) "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
(50) "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."
(45) "He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me.
(46) "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.
(47) "If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
(48) "He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
(49) "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak.
(50) "I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."
A great part of who you really are (underneath the surface, I mean) is really about the choices you make throughout your life. They define and describe you in ways that simply cannot be seen. Question: Gary (or whoever)- What will you do about Jesus; today?????