I Know You!…
John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
In other words, through our love for one another, we will know each other… and might I add… be known by each other.
I know you!… Would you be known as a disciple of Jesus… I so WANNA be… but…
“If I were honest with myself, which I always try to be” — (a favorite quote from “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”)…
I love the idea of loving you like Jesus loves!… but… to LOVE you, I would have to love ALL of you. I would have to set aside judgement accepting all of you and not just the parts that please me. I would have to listen and hear your heart, even if I don’t a share common passion. I would have to know your past, I would have to acknowledge all the moments that make up your present, and I would have to seek, in spite of that knowledge, to be a part of your future. To love you… I wouldn’t necessarily have to love your story, but I would have to remain, loving you, until you are no longer adding to your story.
Whoa! Reminds me of wedding vows… When did I agree to this?
When? When I became a disciple of Jesus! This love is the public confession (with more than words) of my connection to Jesus… By this all men will know that you are My disciples…
I gave Him the authority in my life… A new commandment I give to you… THE Ministry Commander of Encouragement and His encouragement… love one another
He became the standard of love… the love of a Bridegroom… even as I have loved you…
NO WAY! Impossible! I’m the worst of the worst at loving… I “lose that loving feeling” more times than I show it!
There certainly won’t be many (if any) saying, “I know you!”… at least not because of my ability to love like Jesus.
Then again… the very essence of disciple is someone, who doesn’t become the Master, but continually seeks closeness and intimacy with Him… (a Thesaurus adds these nouns to the word disciple; follower, adherent, believer, admirer, devotee, acolyte, votary; pupil, student, learner; upholder, supporter, advocate, proponent, apologist)
It is NOT the “I know you” that MAKES me a disciple of Jesus nor is it the many attempts to measure up to His standard… these things are the fruit of a life lived as a disciple of Jesus.
It is the PURSUIT OF JESUS that makes me His disciple. I am a Jesus Freak!
When my daughter was in high school (just a few years ago… hehe), this was not always the preferable label. She wore it proudly, sometimes at great expense to her reputation and sometimes because of the potential expense to her reputation. Today, it is sometimes just as costly… sometimes, in some places in the world, it may even cost you your life. Just the other day, a man in Oregon asked for a testimony of faith from some of his fellow students, and then killed those who professed Christianity. Obviously he didn’t KNOW them, and he sure didn’t give them an opportunity to SHOW him their discipleship skills, so what was the offense? I’d venture to guess that Jesus is well-known… and all other gods (except of course self) may not be liked but they are not near as scary as He is. I’d venture to guess that it is the wish of some, to destroy Him by ridding this world of all His people.
There’s just one problem… it won’t work! Jesus IS… and the gates of hell could not prevail against Him! There is nothing nor anyone who can or will destroy Jesus. When all is said and done, and the smoke clears from the attempts to kill Jesus… Romans 14:11-12 For it is written, “As I live, says the LORD, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
HE WINS… and I follower THE WINNER… I am a Jesus Freak!
Romans 8:31… If God is for us, who is against us?
To all of us sibling disciples… and to all those future brothers and sisters of the cross…
To all those suffering the pains of life… to all those suffering persecution… to all those suffering abuse… to all those SUFFERING…
Being a Jesus Freak doesn’t make it all go away and bring on sunshine, rainbows, and lollipops. In fact… John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you… No matter WHAT we face… or WHO we face… we have the ultimate Ministry of Encouragement Trainer who has BEEN THERE/DONE THAT!
Being a Jesus Freak, we have the ultimate encouragement from our Master Encourager… Romans 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Romans 8:37-39 But in all these things JESUS FREAKS overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loves us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our LORD.
I may not be able to always be successful at showing my love… but I will always declare His love… I know Him!
Someday I hope to hear…”I know you! You’re that Jesus Freak who can’t stop talking about Him!”
And when I hear your testimony of following Jesus, I will give you a shout out… “I KNOW YOU!”… WE ARE FAMILY!!
**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible