I have been reading through the Bible in a year and am just getting through the Gospels and into Acts. One thing has really stood out to me in my reading of the Gospels, it is that Jesus really came down on the religious people of His day. I don't have to tell you what all it took to be a Pharisee, it was hardcore dedication to religion. I wonder what life was like for Nicodemus after that first night together with Jesus. Don't you know that Jesus spoke to every yearning in his heart? I know it's tough for some of us to remember back to the day of our Salvation, but remember when Jesus called us out of darkness and into light? Remember how Jesus spoke and it pierced your heart? Remember the woman at the well and how Jesus spoke directly to her hurts? I can only imagine that the conversation with Nicodemus and Jesus was probably the exact same piercing but loving conversation.
It get's a little scary for me since I work at a church, the tendency to get caught up in religion, in programs, in business and totally miss Jesus. It's tough when there is something every night and there is no time to just rest in Him. Literally, spiritually you can become a dried up riverbed. I don't say this potentially... I look around and all I see are dried riverbeds sometimes. People who haven't tasted and seen that the Lord is good in years. It's very easy to just operate out of flesh (religion) instead of living by His every word (faith). Programs can create a false sense of security becasue we begin to trust in everything except Jesus. My point is this, after that night what do you think life was like for Nicodemus? Don't you know he longed for more time with the Messiah? I am sure all the Pharisee time became pointless to him... like when they all sat around and debated religous topics I can imagine Nicodemus in the corner holding a cup and off in his mind thinking about what questions he would ask Jesus the next time he same Him! When we see Nicodemus again at the crucifixion he has 75 pounds of spices for Jesus burial. Christian historical tradition would go on to tell us that he was martyered in the first century.
I think about Nicodemus and his night with Jesus a lot. I want to daily know the power of God in my life. I want to daily experience His freshness. I want to be removed from programed faith and truley taste His goodness every day. I know it is inevitable that as a human being we will get into routines, but my prayer is that I will always be aware of those times and be able to break through them to dive deeper and deeper into Father's heart.
