Authenticity
It requires the courage to be honest and at times look foolish.
This past Sunday our church was focusing on Jesus trying to comfort his disciples just before his arrest and crucifixion. This is an appropriate subject at this time of year heading towards Easter. For this reason I went back and found this reflection.
If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”
John 14:7
If you had known me…
It is possible for me to know who Jesus is and to even believe a great deal about him. In fact I could even live day to day right next to him and watch all his miracles and hear all his profound statements and still not really know him at all. That is essentially what Jesus is telling all of his disciples in this verse.
To really know Jesus as he wants to be known requires that I know about his relationship with his Heavenly Father.
Is this true about me? Am I okay with being known by others without them ever knowing about my relationship with God?
If I am, and I’m pretty sure this is the case, even with many who may only know me as a fellow church attender - because we have never talked about what we believe or who we believe in - then I’m certainly settling for living in an inoffensive and sadly disjointed way. Sort of like Peter who will soon in this story deny three times ever knowing Jesus. (John 18:25-28)
Not wishing to offend is certainly a good thing except when it means pretending to be someone I actually am not.
What jumps out at me when first thinking about this question of how I should live publicly are all the stories of business people who display Christian symbols on their stationery or signage and yet behave badly. Perhaps too I’m afraid of being taken advantage of because I am a Christian, but if this is the case what does it say about my willingness to take up any sort of cross, be inconvenienced, even persecuted if this is necessary, for the sake of Jesus’s kingdom?
From now on…
Then he says “From now on.” Those words seem to bypass a lot of work on my part. That’s Jesus for you. You have thought particular thing about God or Jesus and later see that you have missed the mark. So from now on...what do you need to do?
It’s as if Jesus in this verse is saying there is no need to weep or wail. No need to do a thousand pushups or report to the nearest jail to serve out time. Starting now (from now on) just think differently. Change your mind about the matter and move on with your life.
From now on you have seen the Father. In the same way Jesus is the way and the truth and the life it turns out he and the father are one. If you have seen one you have seen the other.
So you have been broken. From now on you can choose to walk differently based on what you now know.
Isn’t it great comfort to know that even when we are hesitant to be bold about our faith to someone else, Jesus never falters in his defense of us before the Father.