THURSDAY - Devotional

READ: John 5:19-20

(Answer the question/s below in your app notes)

• Where did Jesus put his focus? Where is your focus?

In college during my very first week of classes, I met my friend Jake at The Atlas, the campus coffee shop. We crowded together at a table, our books piled high, feeling the overwhelming excitement and responsibility of beginning our collegiate adventures.

The second week of college, I walked into The Atlas, needing about two weeks’ worth of sleep but responsibly dragging myself to study over a cup of hot cocoa. I looked around the shop and saw one spot open: the corner table by the bathroom. I walked over and was delightfully surprised to see Jake there, clearing out more space for me.

This kept happening, not only freshman year, but all the way until we were seniors about to graduate. Every time, we’d laugh, and then catch up for a bit before settling into our studies. One time late in my last year, I saw Jake in town at a bookstore. He smiled and waved, and I numbly did the same. But something felt weird. It wasn’t until I recalibrated for a second, investigating my feelings, that I realized that I felt off because I wasn’t used to seeing Jake anywhere but The Atlas.

“What are you doing here?” I said, approaching him. “I thought you lived at The Atlas.”

Just like I only associated Jake with The Atlas, Jesus says that he and God are inextricably linked. One is not separate from the other. Jesus makes God known—not far away, but right there in front of us.