But What About You?

Early on when I first started following Jesus (from a distance) I bought myself a big thick study Bible. You know, the kind of Bible that has notes from "scholars" on every page under the verses which told me what the verses mean. I would read the Bible, and of course in many cases I had no idea what it meant so I quickly glanced down at the study notes and read what the scholars told me it means. This went on for years. In fact, when people would ask me about certain passages I would quickly speak up and just regurgitate the notes from my study Bible. It made me look pretty smart. It even made me think I was smart. Not only smart, but it made others think I was close to God. I kind of liked looking smart. I also liked not having to spend more time talking to God trying to find the answers I was seeking.

There was just one glaring problem with that - I never got to know God for myself. The "scholars" served as a mediator between me and God so I never got to know Him personally. If I had a question, I would "go" to the scholars rather than lean into the Holy Spirit. Looking back, I didn't know God as well as I thought I did. In fact, I don't think I knew Him very well at all. The bad fruit in my life demonstrated  where my roots were truly planted - in the minds of men rather than the Word of God.

When Pilate was questioning Jesus before His crucifixion, he asked Jesus, "Are you King of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Is that your own idea, or did others talk to you about me?"

For some reason Jesus was really concerned about the source of people's knowledge of Him. There was another time after His resurrection when He asked His disciples, "Who do people say that I am?" The disciples replied that some people thought He was John the Baptist, some thought He was Elijah, some just a prophet, etc. But then Jesus followed up with a more direct question, "But who do YOU say that I am?" Then Peter blurted out, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Because of Peter's response, Jesus told him that he was really blessed because men didn't reveal that to him, but the Father revealed that to him from heaven. In fact, Jesus said that direct revelation from God would serve as the foundation of His church (Matt. 16:18).

When I was a boy I used to collect baseball cards. On the back of the cards there were the statistics of each of the players including their batting average, home runs and that kind of thing. I got really familiar with some of the players. In a couple cases I even got their autographs. But I never knew them. Not even one.

I've learned there is a big difference between knowledge about God and knowing God personally. Jesus didn't say that we will learn to recognize the voice of other sheep, He said His sheep will hear His voice. We must not let anyone stand between us and God - not a pastor, not a priest and certainly not any study notes. God doesn't want fans. He wants friends.