John 17:3
Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
This
morning, I subbed in the 2nd/3rd grade Sunday school class, and our
scripture passage was from John 17. I gave the children a recap of
earlier chapters of John, where Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, broke
bread and shared the cup with them, and then gave them instructions for
how to live after He returned to heaven. That brings us to John 17,
where Jesus prayed. He asked God to glorify Him, that He (Jesus) might
fully glorify the Father who sent Him. Jesus asked God to care for His
believers…and then He prayed for non-believers.
This led to the
next part of our discussion, which was about how well Jesus knows us…and
how well we know Him! We talked about how important it is to really know
God through Jesus Christ…how necessary it is to talk to Him about
everything – and to listen for His voice. We discussed how critical it
is that we demonstrate to others a positive Christian witness – and an
abiding faith in God.
All of these things are direct indicators
of how well we know God. One child asked where God came from…and who
made GOD! I didn’t have a good answer for that…but I did stress to the
students that what is important for us is that we believe that God is
our Father, Shepherd, Protector, and LORD. On the way home, I asked our
three little ones what they learned at Sunday school, and Zola began to
tell us all about God in these terms…and how important it is that we
know Him.
Timothy said, “Oh! I have known God since I was a little baby!” We smiled at that, because he has always seemed to have an amazing faith and understanding of God. But this is key for all of us. To know
God is to trust Him…to fully believe that He is our LORD, Protector,
Shepherd, and Father…and to accept this with confidence – even when we
cannot explain where God came from or who birthed Him into existence. I
know it’s confusing…and it’s REALLY hard for little kids to grasp…but
they sometimes seem to accept this with faith and confidence that eludes
many adults.
Today, let’s make sure we really know God…not in
the same way that you know a good friend and his/her likes, dislikes,
favorite foods and colors, and such. Let’s make sure we know God in
terms of how He cares for us…how He loved us enough to send Jesus to
save us from our sins – and to send the Holy Spirit to remain with us.
Let’s know God in terms of who scriptures say He is, and how He protects
us and guides us…forgives us when we fall short…heals and restores
us…and gives us wisdom and comfort. Let’s know God for His incredible
gift of Jesus…and the sacrifices that He made on the cross for our
sins.
Let’s claim beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is
only ONE GOD who could do all of this…only ONE LORD and Savior, Jesus
Christ. Because we know this to be true - and demonstrate that we have a
deep and abiding knowledge of God through Jesus - we are assured a seat
at the Lord’s table for all Eternity. Do YOU know God this well?
Isn’t it time you do?
©2016 Debbie Robus
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