So Excited I Miss The Point

I get so excited I miss the point.

Six days later Jesus took Peter and the two brothers, James and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus' appearance was transformed so that His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Peter exclaimed, "Lord, it's wonderful for us to be here! If You want, I'll make three shelters as memorials—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

But even as he spoke, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is My dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him." The disciples were terrified and fell face down on the ground.

Then Jesus came over and touched them. "Get up," He said. "Don't be afraid." And when they looked up, Moses and Elijah were gone, and they saw only Jesus.

I relate to Peter here. It would seem that when God does amazing things in my life I very often miss the point. I am so self focused that when God meets me at a point of need, I try to make a memorial out of it. I often find myself building a theology of how God will meet my needs from the experience. “Lord, it’s wonderful for us to be here!” While that maybe true, it leaves the focus on me and what I’m getting out of it. I miss the point. I wonder if sometimes I need to shut up and watch. I need to close my mouth and open my ears.

I wonder if all Jesus wanted to do was to introduce the three disciples to the Father. The Father interacted with the three, “This is My dearly loved Son, who brings Me great joy. Listen to Him." I wonder if Peter felt foolish when His eyes were opened to the larger picture.

As a creative, I live to find ways to creatively tell the story, that’s how I build memorials, but it’s important for me to remember that relationship is more important then memorial. Jesus said his job was to reveal to us the Father. I am finding that all to often I get wrapped up in my stuff to see that.