Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ -Matthew 7:21-23
I’ve been a Christian for as long as I can remember.
But for most of my Christian life, in my heart, I thought God was just there for me when I ran into trouble, only to meet my needs and make me comfortable. For years I would go to church, get caught up in His presence, and leave on fire for God.
But after a few days of not pursuing Jesus; not learning how to live my life following Him, I quickly began living for myself again, engaged in things I tried to hide from God. I may have read my Bible a couple of times and even prayed now and then, but the cares of this world would continually hinder my knowledge of God.
My heart was genuine. I would be so excited for Jesus, get home, and go back to living – sporadically reading the word, no deep roots, wondering why I found myself in bondage to sin again by the end of the week. I’d be in tears, promising God and myself I would never do it again.
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. -Matthew 13:20-22
This was my Christian life for years.
Like the majority of those around me, I wasn’t following Jesus. I didn’t know I needed to. I was perishing due to a “lack of knowledge.”
But thankfully in 2014, out of the blue… I decided to go on a fast – for Jesus.
A miracle suddenly took place. This stubborn, hard heart was inspired to seek God.
I had finally gotten off the roller coaster as I began to get to know Jesus.
And when the trials intensified I’d seek after Him all the more, holding on for dear life through every season.
How do you know you know Jesus?
You fall in love with Him. After following Jesus these past ten years, I realized I had fallen in love.
If you love me, keep my commandments. -Jesus
Love, I’ve found, is the only response the human heart could ever have to knowing and experiencing the God who made them.
Not indifference, anger, hatred, or contempt; but love.
I remember while working at Starbucks, one of my coworkers who knew I was a Christian told me about this weird friend they had who was in LOVE with Jesus. He said, “She’s obsessed with Him!” And he asked me, “What do you think of that?”
I said, “Yes I love Jesus, but I’m not in love with Him, not like that.” And we both kind of shook our heads and went back to work. (I’m chuckling as I write this.)
I didn’t know Jesus. Not like I do now. I would say I am now in love with Him; obsessed in a way. And I pray that man’s friend is even more in love with Jesus now than she was all those years ago.
If you don’t love Him, you don’t know Him.
Lord, open our eyes to see You, open our hearts to know You. Amen.
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. -John 14:23
If you know Jesus, you love Jesus and you believe Him and follow Him. You obey.
Of course I don’t know God completely, no one does. And there’s beauty in the mystery. But with what little I’ve learned, as I kept my gaze on Him, my love for God has only grown. Each day is better than the one before because he reveals more of Himself to me.
What does He want from us?
He wants our heart. And when He has it, everything else will follow. “Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all these things will be added to you.” God wants to fellowship and show us his beautiful mercy and love.
I used to believe that God only wanted me so I could work for his Kingdom and bring people to Christ. I had no clue that He simply wanted my heart. Did you know His ultimate plan is to dwell among us.
I had a hard time with this because I always wondered if I was doing enough for the Kingdom.
I’d sit in agony, allowing accusatory thoughts to bombard my mind. I’d think: “Faith without works is dead, you know. I need to get busy feeding the poor, visiting those in prison, healing the sick, and raising the dead! I need to be reading the Bible and praying at all times.” I couldn’t figure out how to stop striving and simply be. I didn’t realize that when you love the Lord and abide in Him, good works will follow.
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing. –John 15:5
How to get to know Him.
We often get our beliefs about God based on other people’s opinions, misunderstanding our own suffering, listening to wrong teachings in the church, basically walking through life not learning about God and His Kingdom for ourselves.
So often we forget that the truth is found in God’s Word, and this truth sets us free. When we neglect to read His Word, we starve our spirit, just like you starve your body when you stop eating. The longer you listen to the world’s truth and ignore God’s, you’ll find yourself confused, hurt, defeated, and wondering why God’s not listening.
Know that He IS listening.
His posture towards you has never changed and His gaze has never shifted away from you. What gets in the way is not on His end; it’s on ours. Jesus, fully God and fully man, endured torture, humiliation, pain, and death on the cross just for you. Why wouldn’t He listen to you oh believer?
Come to Him.
God is not austere and distant. You don’t have to fix yourself up to get to Him. You can come just as you are. Give your life to Him and experience the joy and freedom known to those who love Jesus. Saying yes to Him is as easy as breathing.
Believe and say, “Dear Jesus, I love you and I repent of my sins. I thank you for taking my place on the cross. Come into my heart. I receive you unto myself and give you my life. Save me from my sin. I turn from the world and turn to you, forever. Save me Jesus and fill me with your Spirit. In your name, I pray, amen.”
Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him! –Psalm 34:8
“This is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” -John 17:3
