Can Anything Good Come from Nazareth?

A couple of weeks ago I was walking to the laundry mat and I passed this ugly fenced field. It was overrun with weeds and hundreds of vines hugging the diamond shaped rings of the fence surrounding it. I stopped to look at it for a moment. Wondering why no one cared enough to make something out of the space. It could be replaced with a playground for children, maybe another apartment building, or just anything that would do away with this eye sore. As I continued to pass by the fence the most beautiful purple flower caught my eye. I marveled at the beauty of that flower for several minutes and then looked back at the eye sore that it was a part of. I decided that I had to get a picture of that flower. As I continued my walk to the laundry mat, I thought about that flower and how it is a representation of so many people in the world. I decided to write a post about realizing that no matter what mess you are in, or how many problems you have, God can make you bare beautiful fruit and you become a light to people around you. Well I never wrote that post but I thought about that flower for days. One day, Jovita and I were heading to the grocery store and I stopped by the fence to show her the flower and take a picture of it. As we stopped I noticed more beautiful purple flowers that had developed from the time I originally stopped at the fence and the time I decided to take a picture. They were so vibrant and beautiful and I took several pictures. That night, I was thinking about what to write for the blog and the Holy Spirit gave me the following scripture.

And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” John 1:46

I meditated on this scripture for a while and was so inspired. Often times we have preconceptions of people and places. We assume that we know all that we need to know without ever really knowing a person. This may be true for you. I am sure there have been times in your life where you have been judged without people knowing you. Sometimes people may have thought that you were a hopeless cause based on where you come from. Other times it is what you say about yourself, that causes you to diminish your greatness as proclaimed by the Lord. Nathanael knew nothing of Jesus, only that He came from Nazareth. Based on this knowledge, Nathanael didn’t see what the big deal would be concerning a Nazareen. He already had his mind made up about Jesus, without even speaking to Him. The rest of the passage says:

47Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
48Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
49Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

In that moment, Nathanael knew that nothing else mattered and that he had met the Messiah. Often times in life, people judge us by outlying factors. However when they meet us they see the light of God within us. Please remember that no matter where you are from, no matter what you have done in your life, God makes all things new. When you ask Jesus to be your savior, to come into your life and to change you, He will. You may still look like a mess, but slowly God is making beautiful flowers appear in your life. Out of all your bad attributes, God makes beautiful things arise. So don’t worry about what your life looks like now. God is working on you, making you a new beautiful creation. Take the time to recognize and glorify the Lord for all the beautiful flowers (or fruit) he is adding to your life.