"Friendship Is a Single Soul Living in Two Bodies"--Aristotle

In my second year of seminary, I decided to pick up Oswald Chambers' devotional guide My Utmost For His Highest as a part of my personal time with God each morning.  What I remember about that year was that every morning as I read the daily reading, I could sense that God was indeed speaking to me through the words written.  I knew that the Holy Spirit was doing a mighty work in me as he was preparing me for full time ministry.

I couple of months ago, I read a short piece that was quoted from the devotional and I could sense the Spirit stirring within me.  So I decided to once again go through the book for 2015.  It's funny how God works.  A few days before Christmas I had dropped by our local mall to pick up a couple of last minute Christmas gifts.  For whatever reason, I ended up going into the used book store.  As I was looking at the commentaries, one of the books that stuck out at me was a really nice copy of Chambers' book.  I picked it up for a mere $3.00 and gave it to Myranda so that she could read the book with me.

On January 7th, the focus verse is from John's gospel.  "Jesus replied, 'Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been with you all this time?'"  It made me wonder, how many of us who claim Jesus as our savior are in Philip's boat?  How many of us have been with him for 20, 30, or even 40 years and still don't know him?  Knowing who Jesus is and knowing Jesus are two diametrically opposite things.

For many years, I knew a lot about Jesus.  I knew that he was born in Bethlehem.  I knew that he was baptized by John in the River Jordan.  I even knew that he died on a cross and was resurrected from the tomb.  But I really didn't know Jesus.  It wasn't until I was in my twenties that I actually was introduced to the Son of Man.

It was only after I began to know Jesus that my life truly changed.  Knowing him has been a challenge, a joy, a struggle...over all, it's been an unfathomable experience.  As I reflect upon my relationship with him, I have come to realize something.  My relationship with Jesus is a true friendship.  Sometimes he makes me laugh.  At times, we argue.  I get mad at him.  And at times, there are moments of intimacy where I feel as though we truly are "a single soul living in two bodies."

But through it all, I am so glad that I do know Jesus.  For me, knowing Christ is not about going to heaven or avoiding hell.  Knowing Christ is a walk where he reveals myself to me.  He gently shows me where I am weak, lovingly shows me where I need to improve, and carefully forms me into something better than I could have been without him.  I guess that the longer that I know Jesus the more I recognize that the Jesus I knew a lot about is not the Jesus that I now know.  While I believe all of those things did happen, it's not about the things; it's about the person.

That's what I think he was telling Philip that day.  A person can know about someone else.  A person can even live a life associated with someone else and really never know that person.  But that's not the same as knowing them.  So my hope for 2015 is that if you are a Christ-follower that you will get to know the real Jesus.  If you're not, then maybe I could introduce you sometime.  It would be my pleasure.  Until next time...