Matthew 22:37….Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
As far back as I can remember, I was taken to church and Sunday School in order for me to learn about the Lord and in due time, take Him as my Lord and Savior. Every Sunday we went to learn about Jesus in our Sunday School. In the Summertime there were those days all the children looked forward to. They were called Vacation Bible School. I was a great time of fellowship and fun but the main task of VBS was to teach us more about Jesus. I attended all of these times of worship and study on a very regular basis. Saturday night was a time in which we all got ourselves ready to go to our church on Sunday. There was no doubt at all about where we were going the next morning. We put on our best clothes, got our Bibles and went to Sunday School.
I remember well when I was in the Junior Department in Sunday School. I had a teacher who was very devoted to those eight or ten young fellows in his class. He taught faithfully every Sunday about Jesus and God. This dear man made sure that we understood what we were learning. He was responsible for a number of those boys in our class giving their heart to Jesus at an early age. Some of our readers will be inspired by this article to remember such faithful people in their own lives and they will always revere those faithful Christians who shared Jesus with them each week. They were not scholars but they did the very best job they could in preparing us for a Christian life.
As I was thinking back on those formative years, I began to realize something that I think a lot of people will understand if they will just think about it for a little while. I was taught a lot about Jesus and that was very good, but I was not taught to understand a deep, personal relationship with Him. Knowing about him was paramount, but knowing Him in reality was somehow not given the same amount of energy as teaching about Him. This was not done intentionally but it did occur. Many very good people can tell one many things about Jesus that they learned early in life but they live their lives as if they do not actually know Him.
A deep personal knowledge of Jesus is paramount if we are to actually be a Christian who has a relationship with Him which matches our knowledge of Him. Jesus wants to have a deep personal relationship with each of His Children. A person can know a lot of information about Jesus and not have a personal relationship with Him. In order to be saved we must have that relationship with Him which is grounded in faith and trust in Him for all of life. This kind of relationship will grow over the years if we don’t let it get stale. One cannot know him in depth until they have devoted a number of years to Him in obedient living which is grounded in a desire to please the greatest friend we will ever have. In earlier years while we were learning about Him, I think there should have been a deeper understanding given to us that we should also Love Jesus. How many people today pray to the Lord asking for His blessings, protection and guidance? They do this because they have been taught that He is all powerful and can answer any prayer that is within His will. We are asking for things from our heavenly provider because we know He can do whatever we ask. But, how often is that prayerful communication also bathed with LOVE for Jesus. Is the prayer grounded in a deep relationship with our personal Savior and friend who we love? It’s all right to ask for His blessings but are we asking things of Him because we have been taught that He hears us and will help us. That is a true statement but shouldn’t our requests be made to someone we actually have personal love for as much as we know that He has the power to answer our petitions?
I’m concerned that we have been instructed that He loves us; that he wants to save us; that He is all powerful; knows all things; is with us all the time; knows us intimately; that He is at one with the Father; that He will take us to heaven if we have faith in Him, and that He is at the Father’s right hand interceding for us at this present time. All these things and more are taught but are we taught strongly enough that not only does He love us, we are to love Him in a personal way as well. Do we see the Lord as a Provider more than we do as a personal Friend whose friendship and love for us is at the root of His loving care for His Children?
How many people go to worship today because they really feel a Love for Jesus and want to be in His presence? Or, are they going to a church expecting Jesus to do something for them? Are they wanting to get something from Him or are they going to church because of a personal Love for Jesus and a vital relationship with Him which drives them to have loyalty to Him and to be where He is. Remember, that He has said that wherever two or three are gathered together in His Name, He is there with them.
I love to be with my family not because I think I will get anything from them but because I LOVE them. We should realize that the Lord wants our Love. We should be giving Him a blessing by loving to be in His presence. I simply think that people know more about Jesus that they are committed to loving Him in a one-on-one relationship. Over the years of my ministry, people have taught me that what I am saying in this article is true. I want to think that everyone, first of all, loves Jesus but if they do, they are treating someone they love badly a lot of the time. Most people go to Jesus looking for something because they have been taught that He can provide it. They aren’t coming to Him because they have a deep sense of Love for Him. Now, if one asks them if they love Jesus, they will say…”absolutely.” I challenge everyone to deeply think about your own motivations and make sure that your knowledge about Him leads you to have a deep, abiding Love for Him as a personal friend and Savior.
I urge everyone to know about the Lord as much as you can but I also urge everyone to let that knowledge develop into a deep, personal Love for Him. He deserves that level of Love from us because of what He did for us on the Cross when He died for us out of His Love for each of us.
Yes there is a difference in knowing about Jesus and actually knowing Him.
WFH…6-27-2025
