The Little Letters - Day 25
2 John 1:7 I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward.9 Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.
This is important. This is vital. This recognition that we believe in the humanity, as well as the divinity of Jesus is paramount to our beliefs. Jesus is that paradox and that importance.
It has fallen a bit out of fashion to actually believe this narrative. I know so many people who want to believe, but just find it a bit too outlandish, a little too far-fetched to believe. They either need more evidence, they say, or they feel like they would have to put their reason and logic on hold in order to believe this. They still love the trappings of faith, they just can’t believe anymore.
I certainly understand this feeling. I understand the desire to be rational and reasonable, and it seems as if believing this narrative flies in the face of all of this. And I suppose that in some ways this is probably true. However, I wonder if faith is something that is supposed to transcend simple understanding and logic. I think you can have both, and I think we can lean into the mystery of who God is and still be rational and reasonable people.
And I think this conversation was really important to John the Revelator because he walked with Jesus. Not with the “likeness” of a man, but with Jesus. He walked with him, talked with him, laughed with him, and endured unending hardship due to the fact that he knew Jesus to be as human as he was, and yet something more.
John didn’t recant his belief in Jesus as both human and God. He didn’t falter in his belief, because he KNEW Jesus. For John, the relationship transcended his rational thought. He loved Jesus, and he believed and experienced the resurrected Jesus as well. This was a belief that transcended what anyone could have said to him. He wouldn’t be convinced otherwise as he knew Jesus personally.
This is important. This is vital. This recognition that we believe in the humanity, as well as the divinity of Jesus is paramount to our beliefs. Jesus is that paradox and that importance.
It has fallen a bit out of fashion to actually believe this narrative. I know so many people who want to believe, but just find it a bit too outlandish, a little too far-fetched to believe. They either need more evidence, they say, or they feel like they would have to put their reason and logic on hold in order to believe this. They still love the trappings of faith, they just can’t believe anymore.
I certainly understand this feeling. I understand the desire to be rational and reasonable, and it seems as if believing this narrative flies in the face of all of this. And I suppose that in some ways this is probably true. However, I wonder if faith is something that is supposed to transcend simple understanding and logic. I think you can have both, and I think we can lean into the mystery of who God is and still be rational and reasonable people.
And I think this conversation was really important to John the Revelator because he walked with Jesus. Not with the “likeness” of a man, but with Jesus. He walked with him, talked with him, laughed with him, and endured unending hardship due to the fact that he knew Jesus to be as human as he was, and yet something more.
John didn’t recant his belief in Jesus as both human and God. He didn’t falter in his belief, because he KNEW Jesus. For John, the relationship transcended his rational thought. He loved Jesus, and he believed and experienced the resurrected Jesus as well. This was a belief that transcended what anyone could have said to him. He wouldn’t be convinced otherwise as he knew Jesus personally.
- Do you know Jesus personally?
- Have you had an experience with Jesus?
- Is it something someone could take away from you?
Pastor Tim
Support the Ministries of Crosswalk
Posted in 1 John
No Comments