Meet The Jesus That I Know (PART 1)
Famous people have a common problem: people have many wrong assumptions about them. Most of us often fall into that ditch, where we think of people by their public profile. We assume we know who they are because we’ve heard and read about them, we’ve watched them on TV and heard them on the radio, or we’ve attended their events. We often forget that every public appearance is planned work. Be it public speaking or blogging or vlogging. We don’t think about their spontaneous actions and reactions outside their public life. We believe what people tell us about them but we are not close enough to ask them if it is true. So, we base our judgments entirely on public opinions rather than a personal relationship with the individual.
I know you have heard a lot about Jesus, but I don’t want you to get too familiar with that name. Just because you have a lot of information about Him doesn’t mean you know Him. I want to share with you my discoveries about Jesus based on my personal relationship with Him.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us;” 1 Jn. 1:1,3 (KJV)
The One with The Only True Love
We try as much as we can to love people when we can, but our love is always tied to something. We may argue that fact, but we are faced with the reality when someone suddenly changes his/her attitude towards us, or we suddenly realize what evil they have done, or a bad character they possess. At that point, we will discover the conditions we tied our love around. It is natural, we tend to love people only when they deserve it. Our love is that valued, people can only get it as long as they can earn it, this is not so with Jesus.
“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:7–8 (KJV)
The Jesus that I know does not base His love on who you are or what you do. How unspeakable is His everlasting love towards humanity — both the good and the bad. In fact, He has an unreserved love for those we tag as bad. The society can tag you and treat you as an outcast, but the Jesus that I know loves to befriend people like you.
No reasonable person wants to be identified with a hooligan, but that is not the case with the Jesus I know. He would walk you up and down the street and share a cup of drink with you in public. One time he was having a cup of coffee with some riff-raffs and renown criminals. The clerics in town got disappointed and offended by his attitude. Read the account in Matt.9:10–13 and hear His response.
People keep company with you as friends as long as you please them. Once you offend them, they want to disassociate from you, no, this is not the case with the Jesus that I know. He is constantly looking for a way to reconcile with you. Haven’t you read the story of the prodigal son? Who among us can tolerate a son who squanders his father’s money on prostitution and then seeks for another opportunity to share in the wealth of the father? To hell with that son! Not so with Jesus, He is that Father who is willing to accept you into his warm embrace even when you desert Him and spend your life displeasing Him. He is that loving shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine-safe sheep in search of the one lost sheep. Oh, what true love!
Your best companion can make you feel terrible, by constantly reminding you of your bad character. Not so with this Jesus. Accusations are the devil’s job; forgiveness is Jesus’ delight. It may seem difficult to comprehend that He has forgiven your offences before you asked for it, but it is the truth. You will never hear Him refer to it again. The Jesus I know dumps the record of your sin in the ocean of forgetfulness, where it will never be remembered again. How rich is His love!
You must have heard that Jesus died. It is no longer news, but sometimes you wonder what is so special about it that some people celebrate it. Well, the special part is that He did not die for people who love Him; He died for people who do not love Him. People who do not care about him, people who killed Him, people who disregard Him, people who do not even want to hear His name mentioned. He confirmed this Himself in Matt. 9:13.
Read Isaiah’s account of His death:
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isa 53:5–6 (KJV)
Amazing isn’t it? We were not even thinking of Him when He died. We didn’t want to listen when He spoke in the street. Jesus died for us, bad people. Aren’t we bad? Except you have never sinned before in your entire life, which is practically impossible.
I don’t know what you think of Jesus. Your Pastor probably painted Him as a stern fiery condemning Judge who just wants to force everyone to do His will or die. Sorry about that, your Pastor got the wrong picture. The Jesus that I know never forces His will on people. He is of a meek and gentle Spirit. Even though He strongly desires to have you, yet He will rather wait patiently until you surrender to Him than forcing you to accept Him.
Would you love to meet with this Jesus? There’s more to Him than I can ever write, but you can start your journey with Him today so we can both explore the riches of His person. The journey begins with faith, just a word of prayer will do:
Lord Jesus, I’m grateful for such a great love you have shown to me. Forgive me for the times I have shunned you. I accept your love today. Forgive me all my sins. Wash me clean of every guilt of sin by your precious blood that was shed on the cross of Calvary. Come into my life today and abide with me. Reveal yourself unto me the more. In Jesus name, amen.
Dear friend, if you have said that prayer, either today or anytime in the past, you are born into the family of God. In this family, our object of pursuit is Christ. The more we know Him, the more of His glory we experience in our lives. If you desire to know more about Christ. Reach us at hello@tregomedia.com we will be glad to lead you on the path of the knowledge of Christ.
