Do I KNOW Jesus?

First off, Merry Christmas, my friends!  I hope that you have had an amazing Christmas season, and that you are blessed in every way possible!  Today, we celebrate the life of Jesus and what he has done for us.  We often think about his birth and his death, but not many people focus on the KNOWING aspect.  Today, I am celebrating knowing Jesus and I am thankful for what he has done and will do in my life!  Today, I wanted to spend time talking about knowing him, because I am finding that there is a lot of confusion at times.

Months ago, a friend posed this question to me: “What if I go through my entire life thinking that I am a Christian but I am truly deceived?  How would I know that?”  He referenced Matthew 7:21-23 in which Jesus is teaching about false prophets who claim to know God but really do not.  Jesus claims that those who think they do but really do not know God will be sent away.

This seems like a really harsh statement, but when we consider what it takes to know God, it is just like a relationship that you would have with a significant other/spouse…

Do I communicate with him?  Do I take the time to read the Bible and ask God to reveal new things to me?  When I do that, I am making a concerted effort to understand his will.  Do I pray to him and ask him to give me wisdom for my life?  By doing that, I understand his heart better.  If I never talk to my wife or I never take the time to get to know her, then I will lose the relationship.

Do I properly understand his grace?  I have heard a lot of people claim that God will always forgive us, but do I take that for granted?  If I were continually hurting my wife on purpose knowing that she will forgive me, something is out of whack.  When I love others, I always want to do what is best for them and I do not want to hurt them.  That attitude should be reciprocated, and it allows two people to love well knowing that we do not want to hurt each other.  One way I keep this in check is when I accidently hurt someone.  Do I feel remorse for it or do I shrug it off (or indulge in it, as some do)?  It bugs me to death when I hurt people, so that’s how I have known that my relationship with Christ is sound because it consciously bothers me.  This is why when I look at sinning, I realize that it hurts my relationship with God and I want to minimize it because I do not want to take advantage of his grace.

The opposite of receiving grace is giving grace.  When a conflict comes up with God, do remain slow to react as I try to understand his perspective or do I shut him out/give him silent treatment/throw a tantrum?  Lets face it, in relationships; I don’t always get my way.  My relationship with God is no different.  We must remember that if someone loves us, they will not willingly hurt us and we must be quick to forgive. 

Also, if I want the relationship with God to be one sided, how do I want my relationship with others to exist?  More than likely, one sided.  Jesus took care of himself, but he took care of others as well.  This is why I have to be others-minded as well.

If I am a disciple of Christ, then I will try to shape my image to his.  What is the image that I am bearing?  Jesus mentions in Matthew 7:16 that false teachers are exposed by their fruit.  So as a Christian leader, do I lack self control, have anger issues, am out for myself, have jealousy streaks, etc.?  Or do pursue love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control?  Someone that is aspiring to be a loving Christian should be bearing fruit that is life giving.  Yes, we fail at times, but the over all pattern should be one that is benefiting others (Galatians 5:16-25).

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but I wanted to set you up on the right path.  It can be tough to answer a question in it’s entirety, but I think that we learn a lot about our relationship with God and others by our communication, our love/grace for one another, how we handle conflicts, and how we live our life.  Again, I am totally blessed by you guys and am thankful that you read this.  My hope is that we can continue to grow together and to get to know Christ together.  Merry Christmas, and God bless you!