YOU MAY HAVE HEARD THE SAYING THAT AN OPTIMIST DELIGHTFULLY SEES THE GLASS AS HALF-FULL WHILE THE PESSIMIST CAN ONLY BEAR TO SEE THE GLASS AS HALF-EMPTY. IT IS ALL DETERMINED BY HOW YOU CHOOSE TO LOOK AT THE GLASS.
THE SAME IS TRUE IN REGARDS TO THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST. HOW YOU LOOK AT AND UNDERSTAND JESUS WILL DETERMINE WHAT HE BECOMES FOR YOU. THAT DETERMINATION IS WHAT MAKES CHRISTIANITY SO SPECIAL BECAUSE WE CAN PROCLAIM, AS PETER, IN MATTHEW 16:16, “YOU ARE THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD.”
THAT’S HOW WE CHOOSE TO SEE CHRIST. OTHER FAITHS STILL TEACH OTHERWISE, SUCH AS THE MORMONS WHO BELIEVE THE TRINITY IS THREE SEPARATE GODS. THAT GOD THE FATHER AND JESUS THE SON ARE NOT ONLY TWO SEPARATE GODS, BUT THAT JESUS WAS THE FIRST-BORN SPIRIT-CHILD OF GOD THE FATHER WHICH WOULD MAKE US BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO JESUS.
MAYBE IT IS LIKE THE JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WHO DENY THAT JESUS IS GOD, BUT, LIKE HUMANS, WAS A CREATED BEING WHO FIRST APPEARED AS MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, THE BROTHER OF LUCIFER, WHO WAS LATER TRANSFORMED INTO A MAN. FINALLY, PERHAPS, LIKE ISLAM WHERE JESUS IS NOT THE SON OF GOD, BUT MERELY ONE OF TWENTY-FIVE PROPHETS.
SOME OF THIS MAY SOUND WILD, LUDICROUS, AND FAR-FETCHED, BUT TO SOME IT IS BELIEVABLE. THE WHOLE POINT BOILS DOWN TO THESE FEW QUESTIONS: HOW DO YOU SEE JESUS? HOW DO YOU RECOGNIZE JESUS? WHAT DECISION HAVE YOU MADE ABOUT JESUS BASED ON YOUR OBSERVATIONS?
GOD HAS MADE IT VERY CLEAR TO US IN HIS WORD THAT HE WANTS TO BE KNOWN AS A HOLY, LOVING, PERSONAL, AND RIGHTEOUS FATHER. GOD ALSO WANTS TO BE SEEN AS ONE WHO IS NOT TO BE KEPT AT A DISTANCE OUT OF FEAR, BUT ONE WHO DESIRES TO BE CLOSE TO US, ALWAYS SEARCHING FOR US, AND WISHING FOREVER TO BE FOUND. IT IS ALL ABOUT AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
JEREMIAH 29:11-14A, “FOR I KNOW THE THOUGHTS THAT I THINK TOWARD YOU SAYS THE LORD, THOUGHTS OF PEACE AND NOT OF EVIL, TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE. THEN YOU WILL CALL UPON ME AND GO ADND PRAY TO ME AND I WILL LISTEN TO YOU. AND YOU WILL SEEK ME AND FIND ME, WHEN YOU SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART. I WILL BE FOUND BY YOU, SAYS THE LORD….”
THAT IS WHAT SPEAKS TO ME OF THE WALK TO EMMAUS. THE TWO MEN LITERALLY WALKED WITH THE RESURRECTED JESUS AND TALKED PERSONALLY “WITH HIM” AND “ABOUT HIM.” BUT, IT WASN’T UNTIL THEY STOPPED AND ENGAGED IN FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS IN THEIR OWN HOME THAT THEY WERE AWAKENED AND WERE ABLE TO TRULY RECOGNIZE AND EXPERIENCE JESUS.
THE SAME IS TRUE FOR US: IF WE HONESTLY AND TRULY WANT TO EXPERIENCE THE RISEN SAVIOR, BECOME BORN AGAIN AND HAVE JESUS AS OUR LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR, THEN WE MUST RADICALLY AND OBEDIENTLY CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:17, “…ANYONE WHO BELONGS TO CHRIST HAS BECOME A NEW PERSON. THE OLD LIFE IS GONE; A NEW LIFE HAS BEGUN.” 1 JOHN 2:5-7, “BUT THOSE WHO OBEY GOD’S WORD TURYLY SHOW HOW COMPLETELY THEY LOVE HIM. THAT IS HOW WE KNOW WE ARE LIVING IN HIM. THOSE WHO SAY THEY LIVE IN GOD SHOULD LIVE THEIR LIVES AS JESUS DID.”
NO OPTIONS. NO ADJUSTMENTS. NO COMPROMISE. WE MUST REFLECT JESUS. WE MUST WALK AND TALK WITH JESUS, ENGAGE AND LISTEN TO JESUS, BE SOLD OUT AND OBEDIENT TO JESUS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, INVITE HIM INTO OUR LIVES TO BECOME OUR SAVIOR AND THE PRIORITY OF OUR LIVES.
INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP IS WHAT JESUS WANTS OF US. SUCH FELLOWSHIP IS WHAT WE SHOULD BE SEEKING AFTER. OUR LIVES SHOULD BE THE AUTHOR OF A LOVE-LETTER TO GOD FOR ALL HE HAS DONE FOR US THROUGH HIS SON JESUS CHRIST.
HOW DO YOU SEE CHRIST? HOW DO YOU WALK WITH HIM? HOW DO YOU COMMUNE WITH HIM? WHAT DO YOU DISCUSS WHEN YOU WALK ALONG YOUR ROAD TO EMMAUS? WHEN YOU DO TALK, WHAT IS THE CONTENT OF YOUR WORDS AND THEIR CONTEXT?
IF WE TRULY WANT TO HAVE THE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP WE WERE CREATED TO HAVE WITH CHRIST AND WANT TO SEE HIM AS HE IS, THEN WE MUST MAKE THE MOST CRITICAL DECISION IN OUR LIVES BY ACKNOWLEDGING JESUS AS THE SON OF GOD.
1 JOHN 4:15, “WHOEVER CONFESSES THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, GOD ABIDES IN HIM, AND HE IN GOD.” ONLY UNTIL THE TIME TOGETHER WITH JESUS REACHED THE LEVEL WHERE IT BECAME PERSONAL AND INTIMATE DID GOD ALLOW THE EYES AND HEARTS OF THESE TWO MEN TO BE FULLY OPEN TO RECOGNIZE JESUS.
CHRISTIANITY IS NOT A RELIGION. CHRISTIANITY IS A RELATIONSHIP. IF WE WILL INVEST THE TIME TO START SEEING JESUS AS RELATIONAL, LIFE WILL NOT ONLY TAKE ON NEW MEANING, IT WILL HAVE MEANING.
IT IS AMAZING THE THINGS THAT WILL TRANSPIRE AND GROW IN OUR LIVES IF WE WILL SEE JESUS AS RELATIONAL. LIFE BECOMES VALUABLE. THE TRUTH AND ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE THAT ONCE SEEMED UNIMPORTANT OR EVEN IRRELEVANT TAKE ON NEW SIGNIFICANCE AND NEW MEANING.
SERVING BECOMES MORE IMPORTANT THAN BEING SERVED. CHURCH BECOMES A PLACE OF WORSHIP RATHER THAN A PLACE WHERE WE ATTEND A RELIGIOUS SERVICE.STUDYING AND DIGESTING THE BIBLE REPLACE JUST READING THE BIBLE.
THE NEEDS OF OTHERS ARE JUST AS, IF NOT MORE, IMPORTANT THAT OUR OWN. WE LOVE MORE. WE EMPATHIZE MORE, WE GIVE MORE, WE SACRIFICE MORE, WE DO MORE. WE CARE MORE. WE ARE MORE. ALL BECAUSE WE SEE JESUS AS RELATIONAL AND GROW OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.
IT HAS BEEN SAID: UNLESS THE EYE CATCH FIRE, GOD WILL NOT BE SEEN. UNLESS THE EAR CATCH FIRE, GOD WILL NOT BE HEARD. UNLESS THE TONGUE CATCH FIRE, GOD WILL NOT BE NAMED. UNLESS THE HEART CATCH FIRE, GOD WILL NOT BE LOVED. UNLESS THE MIND CATCH FIRE, GOD WILL NOT BE KNOWN.
SIMPLY PUT: YOUR CHRISTIANITY HAS TO GET PERSONAL, BE PERSONAL, AND STAY PERSONAL! JESUS PATIENTLY, YET URGENTLY PLEADS WITH YOU TO MAKE THAT PERSONAL DECISION RIGHT NOW. HE MAKES THAT OFFER KNOWN TO US BY STATING IN REVELATION 3:20, “BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR AND KNOCK. IF YOU HEAR MY VOICE AND OPEN THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN….” ROMANS 10:13, “EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
PILATE’S QUESTION IN MATTHEW 27:22 REMAINS: “WHAT THEN SHALL I DO WITH JESUS WHO IS CALLED THE CHRIST?” WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS? MAY GOD OPEN YOUR EYES….MAY YOUR HEARTS BE STRANGELY WARMED….AND MAY YOU INVITE JESUS IN TO YOUR LIFE TODAY!
