John 1:43-48
Nathanael of Galilee describes just how many of us perceive life. He is so taken by his hometown, Galilee, that he thinks ‘the world’ of it. Interestingly, Galilee means, ‘Circle or Circuit, or Ring.’ Therefore, it is Nathanael’s globe; the world that encircles him and it defines his outlook on life. What he doesn’t know is that Galilee has become a wall around him, it has bounded him in, and it has kept him from seeing good opportunities outside his world. No wonder when he sees Jesus, who has just walked in from ‘another world’, he says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
What? This is Jesus we are talking about – the miracle-worker, the Savior of mankind, the life-changer, the maker of all things, etc. Yet, Nathanael’s ‘world’, will not let him see that the world is bigger than Galilee, and that other tribes have something to offer.
Have you noticed that, “Your cosy little world colors your opinions, limits your options, contains your dreams and paralyzes your sense of adventure?” How many of us think that we can’t marry people outside our tribes, you don’t think people of a particular place have anything to offer you in business, you believe some people are inferior to you, you underrate the capacity of people less educated than you, or who didn’t attend your caliber of school. You write many people, organizations, tribes, etc., off before you get a chance to meet them.
Who knows, (just as this same Jesus from Nazareth transformed Nathaniel’s life) your destiny may just be tied to the ‘stranger’ from another world, around you. That person from a different tribe may make the best wife, best boss, best staff and best friend.
Don’t limit your options or incarcerate yourself in the corner of your ‘Galilee’, the world is bigger than that. Get adventurous, go see the world…your victory may be outside your vicinity.
Be FAIR-MINDED this Friday!
ADDITIONAL STUDY
Genesis 12:1-2, James 2:1 and Galatians 3:28.
Lord, raise ‘Philips’ for me that will say: ‘come and see’ – people that will pull me out of my world; and also deliver me from age-old prejudices, stereotypes, negative opinions that I have of people different from me and those outside my ‘Galilee’ in Jesus name!
