You Know God, Who is Enough

“…If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves…” John 14:7-11

The disciples want to know God. This is a very noble pursuit. Perhaps you have had your heart stirred toward God and eternal things since you baby went to be with Jesus. Perhaps you have a hunger like never before to know the God that your baby is knowing and loving and glorifying right this minute.

The disciples want to know the Father. This—for them to ask to know the Father—is a ludicrous question. For, they have had Jesus walking with them, teaching, performing miracles, answering spiritual questions, opposing the Pharisees whose hearts were far from the Father, and generally doing more in His life than could be recorded: “Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). How could they ask to see the Father when Jesus, God incarnate, is right there with them—in their midst?

They had problems of understanding. They had not yet been given the gift of the Holy Spirit who would open their eyes to many things that Jesus did and said—making sense of their entire experience with Him and giving them power to testify to His truth and ways. The disciples were to become apostles and be heralds of the truth with great might. They simply were not there yet. They were still at the stage of asking questions that, yes, do seem quite foolish to us who have Scriptures and the Holy Spirit.

Thomas had a noble desire—He wanted to know and be close with God.

Here is what assurance we can take away from Jesus. To know Jesus is to know God the Father. They are one. They are in one another—a Christian doctrine of mutual indwelling now known as perichoresis.¹ You are not missing the Father when you read about Jesus in the gospels. You are learning about God, the one eternal triune God.

One bright and promising thing that Thomas said is that seeing that Father would be “enough.” I want you to sit with that, with me, for a moment. Do you feel as Thomas felt—like knowing God is “enough” for you? Is all else secondary for you, to knowing God? That’s what the Bible teaches. And, it should be the ultimate goal of our hearts. Grief can throw things askew. It’s been known to do that. It can make our vision clouded. But Jesus wants to be “enough” for us.

It’s like a final laying down of our souls to say that Jesus is “enough.” But, it is a beautiful transformation. It is peaceful, pure, right, good, and hopeful. It’s a transition in grief that we are called to ultimately make—when heaven becomes first and foremost about Jesus, and seeing our beloved family members becomes a secondary matter. Jesus is asking if He is enough for you.

Let us pray this prayer together:

Thank you, Jesus, that we can know you are God. Thank you for revealing the Father to us—that You and the Father are one. And, we can be confident and fulfilled to know that we are meeting God when we meet with Jesus on the pages of Scripture. Thank you for sending Jesus so that we could be assured of our heavenly home with you. We know that confident faith allows our hearts to be soothed. We know that you have gone to the cross to prepare a place for us in heaven, and that knowing you is our hope of eternal life.

You saw fit to answer Thomas’ question about knowing God. He did know one truth: that knowing God was enough for Him. Though He failed to regard Jesus and God the Father as one in mutually indwelling unity, he knew that his soul needed God. Period. And so, that is what he ultimately sought. I want to seek you like that. I want to see you as the first priority of heaven and of my soul. I release to you alone my felt need to see my baby again—trusting that when I put you first, all of these things (like seeing those who died in Christ) will be added unto me (Matthew 6:33). Thank you for giving the good gift of your hope here.

I do consider myself a Hope Mom because I have been infused with desire for a better, different country—a heavenly land, a place where the Father’s “house” is and where I and my baby have “rooms.” There is plenty of space for us with you, and I bless you for what you have made possible in my life here—the hope I have—and in my eternity.

Whenever I start to forget hope, I will remember your promises: my heart need not be overcome with sorrow; there is ample place for me with you; you are coming back for your own; you are the Way the Truth and the Life who puts death in its place of defeat and destruction; and you are and reveal to us the God who is enough.

¹You can read more here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/theological-primer-perichoresis/

Lianna is author of Made for a Different Land: Eternal Hope for Baby Loss (Hope Mommies, 2019). More of her writing can be found at her website.

We would be honored to share your story as a Hope Mom on our blog. On Saturdays we feature Hope Moms’ stories in order to showcase God’s faithfulness even in the midst of such deep sorrow. If you would like to have your story shared on our blog for this purpose, learn more and submit here.