Suppose you are extremely interested in a particular star. (You picture whomever it is in your mind: an actor, athlete, political figure, whatever you may find interesting). You watch every talk how you hear about to learn more about this person (whom I'll call him for now on). You see his face on magazines a the check out line and you purchase them to read. After a few years, when his name comes up you probably feel like you really know him since you've watched and read everything you could about this person.
You find out there's a contest with him and you surprisingly win. The big night comes. You dress your best and jump into the limo sent for your big date. You spend a few hours at dinner with this person you feel you knew a lot about and probably one of the 1st things that occurs to you is that you knew A LOT about this person but they knew absolutely NOTHING about you - not even your name until a few moments before dinner. Secondly during your ride home as you reminisce about your evening you should realize you although you thought you knew him it was very much like going on a blind date with a complete stranger except you knew who the person was and what they looked like. You didn't really know him at all; especially not as an intimate friend.
So it is with Jesus. Many of us know all about Him. We call ourselves His followers. We go to church. We support good causes. We've read the Bible. We've read a lot of books about Jesus. We've talked to Jesus but we didn't really take time to know Him personally. We didn't stop to listen to His still small voice. From all appearances, we look like a Christian but when we get to heaven, we may hear those frightening words in Matthew 7: 23 "I declare to you I never knew you...depart from me!". YIKES!!!
Do you know more than "about" Him but who He is? Col 1:15-20 says "He is the image ofthe invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."
Are you doing what Paul says in Colossians 3? If you truly know Him, you know it will cost you your life but it is worth any cost. Pauls says in Phil 3:8-11: Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Make it your purpose in life to know Jesus, the true and living God. Desire earnestly to know Him and make Him known. As Tommy Tenny says in God Chasers "God is calling....Intimacy with God requires a certain level of brokenness because purity comes from brokenness. The games are over friend. He's calling you". As for me, I'm going to answer that call. How about you?
