Get To Know Jesus 

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
(2 Peter 1:3 - NIVUK)

I read a story about an old Swedish woman who took her pastor severely to task because he had declared in his sermon that Jesus was a Jew and spoke Aramaic. She said he was wrong, that Jesus was a Swede and spoke Swedish! The pastor condescendingly said, "My dear sister, you may have some difficulty proving that." "None at all; I have the proof right here," said the woman as she produced her Swedish Bible and showed him that the words of Jesus were all in Swedish!

I don’t know if this really happened, but it certainly conveys a very real blunder we (who call ourselves Christians) often make: In trying to understand him more, we project our own circumstances, background, theology, world view, politics, and the understanding of it all onto him. In other words Jesus becomes (in our minds) more like who we think he is than who he really is. Karl Barth wrote: “The Word became flesh - and then through theologians it became words again.”

And Jesus is, of course, more than mere words in an old, dusty book on the bedside table. He is, of course, more than any one of us can think or imagine. He is, of course, God. Read what Paul writes about God in Romans 11:33-36. He is unfathomable, so whatever picture we have of him will only ever be a fraction of his fullness.

That is why the most important thing you and I will ever do in our lives is to get to know Jesus Christ. The real One, not the one we think up in our own heads. And not just an introductory meeting one time a couple of years ago. To get to know him we need to stay close to him every single day. Not because he will be different tomorrow, but because we need to be different. Not because he might change, but because we need to.

The good news is that, by Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection, we have free access to him and we can get to know him more if we choose to. It really is our choice to move either towards Christ or move away from him.

And the even better news is that this will actually be enough. We don’t get to know him more by trying to be really good and nice, but if we want to be good and nice, we need to know Jesus more. Do you want to know peace? Get to know Jesus. Do you want to know God? Get to know Jesus. Do you want to know inexplicable joy in the midst of disaster? Get to know Jesus. Do you want to be transformed to be more like Jesus? Get to know Jesus.

Lord Jesus, I need to know you more and love you better. Lead me by your Spirit to know the fullness and blessing of who you are in every circumstance, every day. Amen.