SideTracked

Every day I learn more and more about our President. I listen to his speeches, read press releases, and hear opinions about him – both pro and con. I now know where he was born, where he has lived during each period of his life, how he was educated, the issues he has supported and which he opposed. I know about his family and the family pets; some of the foods he likes and some he dislikes; the sports he enjoys, the movies and plays he watches or attends, and the names of some of his closest friends. I can tune in to countless commentators at any time of the day or night and learn yet more about him, read an endless supply of books and articles about him, and discuss what I know about him with friends and neighbors. The amount of knowledge I can amass is amazing.But I don’t know him.

It is my considered opinion that multitudes of people who call themselves Christians have the same kind of relationship – or complete lack of relationship – with Jesus.

Countless church members spend years gathering information – much of it helpful and valuable information – about Jesus. We can recite the minute details of His life and perhaps quote some of His sermons or parables. We can go and visit the sites where many of the events of His life took place. There is certainly no shortage of people offering opinions about Him or who are willing to interpret His life and teachings for us. Jesus becomes a role model and a guide to all that is right and good. His words are artistically printed and framed in our homes, His picture smiles on us from stained glass in our churches. We are certainly well informed.

But I can’t help but ask, “Do we know Him?”

One of the characteristics of those who know Him is a slow but continual transformation of character and personality. We become like Him. Jesus said that those who love Him, obey Him. That, of course, means that they must be in regular communication with Him – like He was with the Father.

It is not my responsibility to determine if you or anyone truly knows Jesus. Only you and Jesus know the reality of your relationship. And I am not here primarily concerned with your eternal destiny. I am simply drawing attention to a relationship we can actually have with Jesus here, now, during this time we spend on this planet. If you know Him now, you need not fear eternity.

In one of his last prayers, Jesus said to His Father, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3

The eternal kind of life – a life that we can enjoy now – is only possible when we have an interactive relationship with God and His Son, Jesus. Everything else is just information.