John 1:47
Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him."
To understand today's reading, you need to know what Jesus meant by the word, "duplicity." False, double-dealing, two-faced, misleading are all words synonymous with duplicity. In this first chapter John moves right along in describing how Jesus collected his band of followers. Jesus's encounter with Nathanael must have been important enough to have Jesus mention that Nathanael was true to his word. In previous verses Nathanael questioned Philip, "What good comes out of Nazareth?" The answer is obviously Jesus, but also as Jesus points out, Nathanael. Jesus could get a read on Nathanael. He knew that Nathanael could ask questions, but without dual motives or harmful intent. Jesus calls him a truthful man.
In our daily walk, if Jesus were to come to you, what would he say about you. Would he say, "Here is a true child of Tampa, for there is no lying, malice, falsehood, deception, in him."? Or would he say, something else. Jesus knows all before we know it. We can't hide our thoughts and deeds from him. He already knows it. We should all strive to be truthful, honest, straight-forward. Sometimes that's hard, but it must be done for your own spiritual well-being. Pray today for the Holy Spirit to guide you in all of your work, so that you can keep your word, and not be known as two-faced.
