WHO ARE YOU BECOMING?

 

2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

               I have been rereading a small volume of selections from C.S. Lewis’ writings. I have been challenged by Lewis’ ability to take profound theological truths and make them understandable. One of the selections is titled “Ordinary People”. Lewis makes the point that if we take seriously the idea that we were created for eternity, there are no ordinary people. In light of eternity, nations, cultures, and civilizations are only a blip on the timeline of history. Only human beings will endure on into eternity.

               Lewis goes on to make the point that the lives we live now are shaping us into the people we will be in eternity. Every choice we make is sculpting us into a particular kind of person that we will become fully aware of when we step from time into eternity. Here is how Lewis puts.

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations.” (The Weight of Glory)

               The question that Lewis brings to the surface is, what kind of a person are you becoming? Many years ago, someone told me, whoever you want to be when you are 80, you need to start becoming that person now. The question of who are we becoming is not an insignificant one. It is of ultimate significance in the light of eternity.

               Paul puts a positive spin on this question with his comment in 2 Corinthians. He informs us that as followers of Christ, who have seen His glory, are being transformed into His likeness. But to be honest, this is not automatic. It takes an intentional act of the will to move toward Christlikeness.

               Our natural tendency is to move in the opposite direction. Sin is always tempting us with present pleasures at the cost of our eternal reality. Like Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. For a moment of satisfaction, he forfeited a far greater future. We are not all that different.

               So, let’s get back to the question. Who am I becoming? The Bible does not leave us in a dark about how we move toward Christlikeness. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul challenges us to set the right course for our lives. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 (NIV) In essence, if we are going to become people who display Christlikeness, we need to model His character. Instead of shaping our lives to fit the current trends of our world, we need to have the courage to shape our lives to fit the very nature of Jesus. This will often mean that we will be going against the flow. We may seem weird and out of step to the world around us. But that is the way the world viewed Jesus as well.

               In one of Paul’s most profound statements, he crystalizes what it means to set our sights on being like Christ.

Philippians 3:7-14 (NIV)
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

               In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul expressed his commitment to attaining the goal of becoming like Christ. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)

               We cannot afford to coast through life. Each day is an opportunity to be refined and shaped for eternity. Who do you want to be when you step through the door into eternity? Start being that person now.

Colossians 1:9-14 (NIV)
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

GPS SPIRITUALITY

 

Acts 17:11 (NIV)
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

               We recently returned from a trip to North Carolina and southern Ohio. On that trip, we leaned heavily upon the GPS on our phones. GPS is a remarkable thing. It has the ability to guide you to where you want to go, often making course corrections along the way to help you avoid delays. I am thankful for GPS, but it has its drawbacks as well. On several occasions GPS has taken me down roads that I would have preferred not to travel. On a couple occasions it has actually taken me to the wrong destination. In the main GPS is great, but it in not infallible.

               One of the drawbacks of GPS is that we are losing our ability to read a map. While GPS may give you the best route to take from point A to point B, it fails to give you the big picture. I happen to like maps, so when we travel, I pick up road maps whenever they are available. Sadly, paper maps are becoming more rare. For most people today, GPS has replaced paper maps altogether.

               In my devotions, I have been reading a collection of readings from C.S. Lewis. I recently read an excerpt from Mere Christianity called WHY WE NEED A MAP.  Lewis makes the point that our spiritual experiences are enriching and engaging but limited. He illustrates by contrasting a walk along the beach at the Atlantic Ocean to looking at a map of the Atlantic. The experience of walking along the beach may be more pleasurable than studying a map, but it will not get you from England to America. If a person wants to traverse the Atlantic Ocean, they will need a map to get them there. His point is that studying theology may not be as exciting as experiencing God’s presence in nature, but it is the key to actually reaching pour ultimate goal.

               Today, with the rise of social media and AI, I think we have fallen into the trap of having a GPS spirituality. We have traded diligent study of God’s Word for quick answers found on the internet or the latest podcast. We are allowing a kind of spiritual GPS system to guide our spiritual journey rather than studying the map for ourselves. The outcome is often unprofitable and at time dangerous. Using spiritual GPS can blind us to the big picture of God’s Word. It can also lead us down paths that go in the wrong direction altogether.

               In the book of Acts, there is a telling statement. It says that the Bereans didn’t just listen to what Paul had to say, but they went back to scripture to check it out. In my many years of ministries, I have often challenged my hearers to do the same thing. Don’t just take my word for the truth, check it out for yourself. There is only one way to do that and that is to go back to God’s roadmap, the Bible.

               A number of years ago, I developed a class for my church on basic Bible Doctrine. As C.S. Lewis pointed out, many people are turned off by doctrine, but it is essential to our faith. Studying Bible Doctrine can unlock the breadth and width and depth of scripture. It can give us the big picture and help us to navigate the particulars of our journey better.

               In Psalm 119, the psalmist expounds on the value of reading the map.

Psalms 119:97-104 (NIV)
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.
Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me.
I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.
I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word.
I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

               This is not an uncommon theme in the Bible. We are encouraged to study and meditate of God’s Word. It is both the foundation for our faith and the guide for our spiritual journey. As the psalmist says in Psalm 119:9-10, How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

               Paul included this same idea in his second letter to Timothy. As he was encouraging Timothy in his role as the pastor of the church in Ephesus, he challenged him to keep his eyes on the map. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

               It is easy when you travel to become dependent upon GPS. But when the signal is lost, you can get lost as well. It is easy to depend on spiritual GPS to guide your spiritual journey, but when the signals you are receiving contradict one another or radically change course you may find yourself in a place you do not want to be. It is much better to learn to read the map for yourself, and like the Bereans, weigh what you hear through the filter of scripture instead of whatever is currently popular.

Matthew 24:24 (NIV)
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible.

THE CHALLENGE OF BEING EXCLUSIVE

 John 14:6 (NIV)

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

               I have been reading Erwin Lutzer’s book “Christ Among Other Gods.” In it he relates his experience at the Parliament of World Religions in 1993. The goal of that gathering was to bring all of the world religions together into some kind of a unified whole. The different religions were all recognized and celebrated, as long as they did not portray themselves as exclusive. The ultimate goal was to eliminate all differences and unite around the principle of love and human well-being.

               Although the goal of the Parliament has not been achieved, the push to be “tolerant and inclusive” has continued to be championed in our world. Although some people want to just ignore Jesus, most people struggle to make him fit into our new world order. The most common way to do that is to see him as just one among many religious leaders who have influenced the course of human history. They were willing to honor him, but not to give him an exclusive place of authority.

               There are others who want to reduce Jesus to just a man who was elevated after his death to the place of deity by his followers. They claim that the historical Jesus, if he lived at all, was just an unfortunate idealist who met a tragic death. The Jesus of faith is a construct of the early church to continue the legacy of Jesus.

               In these, and many other ways, many people want to deny Jesus’ claim to be the exclusive way to God.

               At the very heart of our faith is the reality that Jesus stands alone on the landscape of human history. We believe that Jesus is the unique Son of God who came into the world to save all of humanity from our sins. As John has said it so eloquently, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. John 1:1-5 (NIV)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NIV)

               The attempt to make Jesus just another man is not new. The early church struggled with the same issue. John addressed it in his first letter to the saints. Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 1 John 4:1-4 (NIV)

               John’s point is that we cannot have a relationship with God the Father without God the Son. The two go hand in hand. We cannot separate one from the other. John goes on to make that point very clear. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV)

               We face increasing pressure to compromise our faith by diminishing who Jesus is. We can honor him as a great moral and spiritual leader, but we cannot call him the exclusive Savior of the world. As we move forward, this pressure is only going to increase. We need to hold fast to the truth that Jesus is the exclusive way to God. There are no others. All others are dead ends.

Hebrews 10:23 (NIV)
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

 

FINISHING THE RACE

 

2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

               At 12:12 AM on Wednesday, August 14 my dad finished his race on this earth. He had not run a perfect race, but he fought the good fight and he kept the faith. As I reflect upon my dad’s 96-year journey there are some lessons that I have learned from the way he ran the race.

               At the top of the list has to be faithfulness. Dad demonstrated faithfulness in every aspect of his life. He was faithful to my mom right up to the end. It is hard to think of them apart. They were always a team. During the last few years of my mom’s life, dad was more than her constant companion. He was her support, encouragement, and even her hands and feet. One of mom’s passions was baking cookies. Because of her failing eyesight, dad had to take on the role of making the cookies as mom supervised.

               Growing up, dad was faithful in supporting us in whatever we did. He made it a point to attend our athletic and musical events. He invested in us in informal ways like taking the time to hit fly balls for us in the backyard after work. He invested in more formal ways by leading our Christian Service Brigade at church. Dad supported us but never pushed us. He allowed us to make our own decisions about the direction we would take in life.

               Dad was faithful to his Lord and his church. He served as an elder at his church for more than 50 years. He was the song leader every Sunday for most of that time. Through all of the ups and downs he stayed faithful to his church.

               That leads me to another lesson I learned from dad, responsibility. Not only was dad faithful to his church and his family, he took responsibility for them. Dad didn’t just show up, he got in the game. In fact, whatever dad did, he was totally committed to it. It showed in his work as he routinely was given leadership positions in every company he worked for. At church, he made sure that things that needed to happen happened. His sense of responsibility was often a cause of frustration for him when others failed to follow-through or would drop the ball. When dad committed to something, he was all in.

               A third lesson that I learned from dad is perseverance. Many people, after they retire, begin to coast. Not dad. After he retired, he actually picked up the pace. He and mom got involved with a ministry called Care Lift. Once a year they would go to Lancaster, PA to work in Care Lift’s warehouse organizing supplies to be sent overseas. Not only did dad work there, he oversaw the operation, organizing the teams of people who would come to help. Then in February, they would board a plane and head to Belarus to distribute those supplies. Again, dad lead the team. In addition, they partnered with my brother in two ministries he was involved in. He assisted Tom with a leadership training program that Tom led and accompanied Tom to Russia on several mission trips. All together mom and dad made 19 trips overseas after their retirement.

               You would think that was enough, but dad was not finished. About ten years ago or so mom and dad moved down to North Carolina to be near Tom’s family. This permanent move meant leaving their church in Ohio and getting involved in a new church. Dad jumped in with both feet. The church ran a basketball program for the children of the area called Upwards. Dad took on the job of announcing these basketball games. He also took on the job of leading their Senior Sunday School class. After mom died, we thought we would lose dad as well. He had a total collapse and ended up in a rehab center for a short time. Much to the surprise of everyone, dad bounced back and was able to return to his apartment. In return, he began going back to the rehab center two days a week to volunteer. He went from being a resident to being a valued member of their team. Dad refused to give up.

               The Bible encourages us to look back at those who have gone before us as an encouragement and inspiration for our own race. Hebrews 12 puts it this way. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV) Dad has taken his place among that great cloud of witnesses. Now it is up to us to pick up the baton and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Revelation 14:13 (NIV)
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them."

THE CLOCK IS TICKING FOR US ALL

 Psalms 90:12 (NIV)

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

               Most of us live with a common illusion. It is the idea that we have all the time in the world. The future seems to stretch out ahead of us with unending potential. But it is an illusion. The reality is that the timeline of our life is finite; it has a terminus point.

               There comes point in all of our lives when we realize that we have more days behind us than ahead of us. Even if we live to be 100, in the overall scheme of things, it is a very short amount of time. As Moses expressed it in Psalm 90, The length of our days is seventy years-- or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Psalms 90:10 (NIV) James puts it even more dramatically when he writes, Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:13-14 (NIV) No matter how we look at it, life it short and our time on earth is fleeting.

               The question is then, what should we do with the time that we have? Moses instructs us to “number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Being aware of just how short our life is is an essential ingredient to living life well. We can either waste our life or we can invest our life for eternity.

               C.S. Lewis wrote that all of us are shaping the person we will be in eternity by the way we live our life today. We are either in the process of becoming something so glorious that we can not imagine it or something so hideous that we would be repelled by the image. His point is that living our current life with eternity in mind is not only important, it is essential.

               This is an idea that we find threaded through all of scripture. What we do with the time we have on this earth matters. It matters to God and it should matter to us. Each day of our life is an opportunity to grow in Christlikeness. As Paul writes in Ephesians 5:15-16, Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

               Currently the Olympic games are going on in Paris. Every athlete who is competing in those games knows the importance of redeeming the time. In order for them to perform at their best, they needed to invest hours and hours into practice, preparing for their ultimate goal. Paul often used this image to illustrate how we live our lives. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 (NIV) The last thing that anyone of us wants is to get to the end of our lives and learn that we have been disqualified for the prize.

               Right now, my father is edging his way to the finish line of life. I don’t know when he will cross that line, but I know that the time is short. It has caused me to think again about my own life. How will I use the days that I have left on this earth? Will I use them for the glory of God or will I waste them on the fleeting pleasures of this world? To be brutally honest, it will probably be a combination of both. But I can honestly say that my eyes are on the goal. My deepest desire is to use my time on earth wisely, so that one day I might stand in Christ’s presence and hear Him say, well done, good and faithful servant.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 (NIV)
For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

DRAWING NEAR

 James 4:8 (NIV)

Come near to God and he will come near to you.

               In my devotions today I read the introduction to C.S. Lewis’ book The Four Loves. He set the stage for his exploration of love, but he also introduced an interesting concept that I would like to explore.

               Lewis makes the point that there is a difference between nearness-by-likeness and nearness-by-approach. We might best understand this idea by looking at the relationship between a father and son. When people look at a father and son they will notice the likeness of appearance. When I have been with one of my sons, people often say that they can tell that we are related. This is nearness-by-likeness. But a father and son may or may not be near to one another. They may be estranged or very close. My son and I have begun meeting for breakfast on a semi-regular basis. We are growing in nearness-by-approach. Nearness-by-likeness is relatively static. Nearness-by-approach is dynamic. It can move in both directions. Two people may draw closer to one another, or they may draw away from one another.

               The idea of nearness-by-likeness and nearness-by-approach is an important concept in our relationship with God. By virtue of being human beings, we all reflect a likeness to God. Genesis 2 tells us that God created us in His likeness. Every human being carries this likeness within himself or herself. Our ability to reason and create and manipulate our world are all reflections of our likeness to God. Whether we acknowledge God or not, we still are near to Him in likeness. This is the sense when people say that we are all children of God.

               But being near to God by approach is something completely different. Although we may all have been created in God’s image, just as my children were created in my image, we are not all near to God or even drawing closer to God. Being near to God by approach takes intentionality and effort. First, it means having a real, personal relationship with God. This can be only through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus has made it clear that the path to nearness with God goes through Him. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NIV) But it does not stop at this point. Drawing near to God is a process, which theologians call sanctification. In layman’s terms it means becoming more like God in our thoughts, our desires, and our actions. There is nothing passive or automatic about drawing near to God.

               The way that we get closer to another person is by spending time with them and getting to know them on a deeper level. The same is true in our relationship with God. The only way to get closer to Him is to spend time with Him and get to know Him on a deeper level. We do this in three ways, which are all interconnected. We draw near to God through the study of His word, the Bible. The more that we immerse ourselves in the Word of God the more we get to know Him. The Bible has the power to transform our lives. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

               A close relationship with another person is more than just knowing things about them. It is in a sense becoming like them. Friends tend to shape each other. As it says in Proverbs 27:17 (NIV). As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. They begin to think alike and act alike. They are able to dialog on a deeper level. In the same way, just reading the Bible is not enough. We need to apply what we are learning to our everyday lives. We need to allow the Word of God to guide our thoughts and our actions. Application is essential if we are going to truly be like God. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 (NIV)

               There is a last aspect of drawing near to God. It is prayer. If a relationship is going to progress beyond being superficial, it will require that people share their thoughts, dreams, and opinions with one another. Spending time together can bring us closer to another person, but talking together takes us to a deeper level. Throughout the New Testament we are encouraged to talk with God. In fact, Paul tells us that we should pray without ceasing. Prayer is far more than giving God our laundry list of wants. Genuine prayer is a time to open our hearts to God. To express our failures, to celebrate God’s goodness, to share our desires and plans. Prayer is our response to God reaching out to us and inviting us into relationship with Him.

               We all, in one way or another, reflect the image of God. We are all near to God in likeness. But we are not all near to God in approach. It is only as we intentionally reach out to God and invite Him into our lives that we really become His children and co-heirs of His kingdom with Christ.

Hebrews 10:19-23 (NIV)
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

THE DESIRE TO BE KNOWN

 

1 Corinthians 8:3 (NIV)
But the man who loves God is known by God.

               Not too long ago I attended a conference for ministry leaders. I knew two of the main speakers, so after one of the lessons I approached one of those men. I immediately introduced myself, not wanting to assume that the man would remember my name. His immediate response was, I know who you are. There is something powerful about being known.

               There is a big difference between someone recognizing you and someone really knowing you. There are many people who know my name, and may even know somethings about me, but they don’t really know me. There are many people that I know in a superficial way, but I don’t really know them in a significant way.

               Several years ago, I led a group of men from my church on a weekend, backpacking trip. After the trip was over one of the men made a comment that has stuck with me even since. He said that before the trip he knew me as Pastor Dave. Now he knows me as Dave. Because we had shared that experience together, this man moved from knowing me from a distance to knowing me more personally.

               There is a desire within each of us to be known, to be recognized, to be valued. So many of our relationships are superficial, surface level relationships. People know our name, but we don’t feel truly known. It is possible for us to be surrounded be people and still fell utterly alone and unrecognized.

               This desire that we have to be known goes even deeper than connecting with other people. We want to be known on a much deeper level by God. We all want to know that our life matters. We all want to know that our efforts count for something. We all want to be recognized in a deep and profound way.

               Jesus came into the world to offer us that kind of relationship with God. Before Jesus came, the Jewish people knew about God, but from a distance. As a people in general they felt that God knew them, but not as individuals. Although they may have believed that God cared about the welfare of the nation, they didn’t sense that God cared about them as individuals. Jesus came to change that.

               During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He focused His attention on individual people. He could have gone the political route and established His rule and reign in Jerusalem, but He did not. He could have gone the religious route and established Himself as the High Priest in the Temple. But instead, He took the personal route of seeing and caring for people who felt neglected, overlooked, and unimportant. I think one of the things that drew the common people to Jesus was that, in His presence, a person felt seen, heard, and valued.

               By coming to earth in the form of a man, Jesus invited us to really know Him, but also to be known by Him. In the opening chapter of John’s Gospel, he makes a powerful statement. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:1-2,14 By coming to earth Jesus revealed the very nature and character to God in ways that it had never been done before. Jesus was inviting people to really know Him, not just know about Him. Then in I John, John talks about the very personal nature of his relationship with Jesus. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 1 John 1:1-2

               The greatest desire that we all have is to move from knowing about Jesus from a distance to being known by Jesus in a personal, intimate way, as John knew Jesus. Jesus doesn’t just know about us; He knows us as a friend. When we put our faith in Jesus, we move from a vague image of a God out there somewhere to a personal relationship with the God who is present in our lives.

               Jesus is not calling us to conform to some religious system. Jesus is inviting us into a relationship in which we can know Him and be known by Him. Jesus makes it very clear that it is not enough to know about God, but we need to know Him personally. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)

               We don’t have to settle for knowing about God from a distance. Through faith in Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, we can know Him and be known by Him.

John 10:14 (NIV)
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—"