Standing for the truth

Every day I learn new things about my wife. I thought I knew my wife three years ago when I mar­ried her, but that knowl­edge has been trumped many times over as I con­tinue to learn more about my won­der­ful wife. My cur­rent knowl­edge of Stephane will likely seem ele­men­tary in another three years.

I can only imag­ine how well we will know one another at our 50th wed­ding anniver­sary. That’s not to say that just because you spend a lot of time together auto­mat­i­cally means you know that per­son. We’ve all met cou­ples that have been mar­ried for eons that truly don’t “know” their mate. But the reward of daily pur­su­ing your spouse is a deeper, more inti­mate rela­tion­ship and a greater knowl­edge of the one you love.

In the apos­tle John’s first let­ter, he writes like he “knew” the risen Christ.

“That which was from the begin­ning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, con­cern­ing the word of life – the life was made man­i­fest, and we have seen it, and tes­tify to it and pro­claim to you the eter­nal life, which was with the Father and was made man­i­fest to us – that which we have seen and heard we pro­claim also to you, so that you too may have fel­low­ship with us; and indeed our fel­low­ship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1–3).

Here was a man who truly knew Jesus Christ. The apos­tle Joh­nis argu­ing that Jesus was a real man. The incar­na­tion was no mere myth – it is his­tor­i­cal fact! John and the other dis­ci­ples had the great priv­i­lege of hang­ing out with Jesus for around three years. If any­one knew Jesus, it was John, the beloved dis­ci­ple. He could speak with author­ity on the mat­ter. “The life was made man­i­fest, and we have seen it and tes­tify to it.” But it wasn’t just the life of Christ that he spoke of.

John also tes­ti­fied con­cern­ing the death and res­ur­rec­tion of the Christ. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16). John knew Jesus of Nazareth and he enjoyed ongo­ing fel­low­ship with him even though by this time, Jesus was reign­ing in heaven. You ask, how – how could John still be in rela­tion­ship with Jesus? The answer is through the Holy Spirit. “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit” (1 John 4:13).

The amaz­ing thing is that even today, almost 2000 years later, we can know Jesus just as John knew Jesus. Sure, in this life, we can’t see and touch him like John did for a time, but we can know Jesus through the Word of God and through the Spirit of God. I find it tragic that all too often pro­fess­ing Chris­tians are unwill­ing to seek and pur­sue Christ. The Bible says, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jere­miah 29:13). How amaz­ing it is to think that we can know God through his Son Jesus Christ!

How amaz­ing it is to think that we can have a rela­tion­ship with the God of the uni­verse! And just like a mar­riage rela­tion­ship, God intends for the believer’s knowl­edge of him to grow, day by day. Per­haps it is nec­es­sary for you to pray and ask God to give you a hunger and thirst for Jesus. Your appetite may be weak, but God can and will pour into your life a hunger and thirst for right­eous­ness like you have never enjoyed before. Why not come to the table where a feast awaits you?

Pas­tor Daniel Stege­man – Stand­ing for the truth

Daniel Stege­man is pas­tor of Hope Church in Sul­phur Springs, Ohio.