Knowing Jesus

Several years ago, in a contemplative prayer group, an older gentleman asked, “What percentage of Christians do you think have a personal relationship with Jesus?” He guessed about 40%. He said that he had grown up in the Church, attended regularly, taught Sunday School and had been a deacon and elder for years. He had always led a good Christian life. Only recently had something happened that led him to having a relationship, a personal connection, to Jesus. That relationship. he said, made all the difference in the world and seemed far more “valuable” to him than his years of Christian living.

As someone who came to faith during the charismatic “Jesus movement” of the 1970s, I listened in amazement. When he originally asked, I answered in my head, “100%, that’s what being a Christian means – having a personal relationship with Jesus.” 

That relationship, a relationship with Jesus, with God, absolutely makes all the difference. And “valuable?” The joy, the aliveness, that fills me when I attest to God’s presences here on earth in the person of Jesus, to His willingness to show us a path through this life, His gift of showing us a life after this one, His power over all these earthly limitations, that connection is beyond valuable; it is priceless.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Matthew 113:45-46

God blessed me with a personal relationship with Jesus long before I lived anything resembling a Christian life. Despite being raised in the church and having a “born again” experience, I struggled with demons in my twenties and often lost. It was through the Spirit’s urging that I started going to church again and found Christian friends. God gave me the strength to oust the demons. As the joy of living in relationship with Jesus grew, I “sold” more and more of my old life for the “great value” of life with Christ.

So I asked myself, “Do you have to have a personal relationship with Jesus to be a Christian?” I had always thought so, but my older friend apparently considered such a relationship a bonus not a requirement. I will duck this question. Because, fortunately, it is not up to me to say. I am not the judge; God is. But if you have yet to find this pearl, please keep looking. His Spirit within brings life.

And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. John 17:3

And not just eternal life, life in the world to come, but abundant life in the here and now. Joy, understanding, peace, forbearance, hope, love, connection. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, is an empathetic therapist, a wise advisor, a gentle teacher, a source of encouragement, strength, and love for others. And I have this personal relationship with Jesus through His Spirit that lives within me.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world. God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love God has for us. I John 4:13-16

Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with you. He knows your name; He wants to call you friend. He is the Lord of Heaven’s army; don’t you want to be His friend as well?

I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from the father. You did not choose me, but I chose you. John 15:15-16

Betsy