More Of Jesus

The driving motor behind my life is the desire to know Jesus more.

Previously this was a mentally stimulating exercise. It would be about getting information about the things of Him and then information about Him. It was a good pastime among the other pastimes I had.

I realised, however, that this was not enough.

Jesus as a pastime was not enough. Competing with other pastimes was insulting to who Jesus is. Gaining information around Him and about Him was totally inadequate for who He revealed Himself to be. When the reality of that dawned on me, I recognised that decisions needed to be made. Radical decisions about how I lived. How fundamental these decisions were took me by surprise – and this was someone who had been churched all my life.

The decisions exposed things about my nature and my inclinations that were disturbing for someone claiming to be a follower of Christ. The subtlety in which I lived in contradiction to the very claim was scary. The extent to which the duplicity was accepted without challenge among the community of faith to which I belonged was scarier still. The truth that many in that community faced similar degrees of duplicity was even more frightening.

It acted as the necessary jolt to the system. It was an Elijah at the Mount Carmel moment when he faced the prophets of Baal. Here my indecision had come to a head and I now had to make a decision as to who I would worship.

What helped make the decision was Calvary. Seeing Jesus again carry my sins to the cross and bear them in great agony. Watching the nails driven in hands and feet. Witnessing Him ask for the forgiveness of those who crucified Him. Uttering that it was finished. Days later seeing the miracle of the empty tomb and then the risen Christ teaching the Kingdom and performing miracles.

Watching this culminate in Pentecost and the ripple effects it has had on generations since then. I reminded myself of how the ripple reached me and turned my heart to Him.

Being reminded of that I remembered again that it was all about Him. All about the miracle of the Spirit giving life to this dead existence of mine for the sake of following this amazing man Jesus Christ to the glory of God the Father.

I love how the tapestry of my life has been weaved in such a way that I have interests in aspects of the culture and society in which I live. I love how it has me fascinated by how people think and behave and why they do so. I particularly enjoy, however, how Jesus informs me on all these issues and how they reflect a greater desire not just to know about the things of Him, or about Him – but to truly deepen my intimate knowledge of Him. A knowing far deeper and intimate than that with my best friend.

My desire is refreshed to know more of Jesus. My desire is for that knowledge to propel me to encourage others to start and deepen their knowledge of the Son of God.

For His Name’s Sake

Shalom

C. L. J. Dryden