Dive In

Day 17—John 1:35-42

The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”

When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”

They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”

“Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”

So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.

Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas”(which, when translated, is Peter).

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I’m diving in, I’m going deep, in over my head I want to be
Caught in the rush, tossed in the flow, in over my head I want to go
The river’s deep, the river’s wide, the river’s water is alive
So sink or swim, I’m diving in.

Above are the chorus lyrics to Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Dive.” The metaphor he uses of standing on a river’s edge, facing the decision to take a leap of faith is exactly what we see in John 1:35-42. Now, we don’t necessarily see the disciples’ struggle in this passage, but we do see their immediate responses to Jesus’ call to follow Him. Without questioning, Andrew and another disciple eagerly follow Jesus physically to where He was staying (vs. 39), so that they could learn how to follow Jesus spiritually. Then, the very first thing Andrew does is go tell his brother about Jesus! To me, Andrew’s response illustrates the inability of God’s presence to be kept to oneself, and the sheer excitement and natural necessity of sharing our experience and His love with others. That is a beautiful thing!

I have been blessed to travel down to Guatemala three times in the past few years, most recently this past December. God has revealed Himself to me in so many valuable and incredible ways throughout those experiences. One of the most important and evident lessons He taught me was that if we give ourselves completely to His will, He will take us on a fantastic journey, better than anything we could experience by ourselves—a true “glorious unfolding.” All we have to do is trust Him, and dive in. I am not saying this is easy or painless by any means, but I am saying it is worth it.

I don’t know what God is calling you to do, or where He is leading you, but whatever and wherever it is, God calls us to trust Him completely, so that we can experience His incredible power, glory and love. My challenge is this: the waters may seem cloudy, and the waves may seem large, and the current may seem strong, but we will never experience God’s true power and grace until we leave our own plans on the shore. So, will you dive in with me?

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Dig Deeper

What is God calling you to dive into? What is holding you back from jumping in, trusting that God has got you and will not let you sink?

Family Talk

Measure off a distance that you know your children cannot jump. Have them stand at one end and select a prize they can have if they jump to the other side. They can’t. Pick them up and carry them to the other side and give them the prize. Explain that Jesus carries us to the prize, without Him we have no way to get there. Ask what would happen if we didn’t trust Jesus to carry us. What is the prize if we let Jesus carry us?