Daily Lesson for August 6, 2014

Today's daily lesson comes from John 1 verses 38 and 39:

38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him . . .

My first semester in seminary I took a class with the then dean of the divinity and he had us read Augustine's Confessions. I remember one day in class he dean asked us when Augustine was converted from his philosophical hedonism to Christianity.  Some said it was in the garden when a voice told him to "take and read" Holy Scripture. Others said the real conversion was obviously after that, when he found a model for Christian life in St. Anthony of the Desert. Still others said the heart change began before all of that - when Augustine began listening to the reasoned argumentation of St. Ambrose's lectures on the Christian faith.  The point of the Sean's question was now evident - conversion to the ways and things of Christ is a process which takes place over time.

In today's Scripture it says the first followers of Jesus "stayed with him." That word "stay" is very important to John the Gospel writer. He uses it over 30 times.  It is translated "stay" or "remain" or "abide" as in "Abide with me." Following Christ means staying with him, remaining with him, and abiding in Him.  It doesn't all happen at once. It mostly unfolds like a flower unfolds - in the beauty of God's timing.

One of my favorite stories comes from Pastor Eugene Peterson's church. A man started coming who was himself an unbeliever but who wanted to raise his kids in a church community.  At first he stood but remained silent when the congregation recited the Apostles' Creed. But then after a while Pastor Peterson noticed the man was saying the first line of the creed: "I believe in God the Father, the maker of heaven and earth."  The man stopped there, but Pastor Peterson kept watching. After a month or so he saw the man's lips add a second line: "I believe in God the Father, the maker of heaven and earth - and in Jesus Christ His only Son."  Pastor Peterson kept watching as over the months the man began to add unto the credo line by line until he was able to recite it all.

Now when exactly did his conversion take place? Somewhere in the staying.