He was in the world – the world came to be through Him – yet the world did not know Him.”
John 1:10
I felt sad while reading the above verse this morning. It was not sadness for the people who didn’t recognize Jesus as Messiah so long ago, though that is certainly tragic. I felt sad for how little I actually know Jesus. I do know Him and believe in Him and trust Him for my salvation. But, really, I don’t know Him like I want to know Him. If I really knew Him like I want to know Him, then everything inside of me would be at complete peace. I would be overflowing with love and joy and give more grace to myself and others. My mind and body would be healthier because I would be free of all anxiety. I would be so full of the fruits of the Spirit that others would be shocked by my kindness (Galatians 5:22-23).
When thinking of the actual results of knowing Jesus more completely, I cannot imagine why my focus would ever stray elsewhere. I want to receive the free living water He so longs to offer me. The good news is that I can. We all can.
I can imagine Jesus whispering to me what He told the Samaritan woman at the well.
“If you knew God’s gift, that is, who it is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink of water,’ then you would have asked Him; and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10
I reply to Him as the Samaritan woman did.
“Sir, give me this water…so that I won’t have to be thirsty…” John 4:15
The prophet Isaiah spoke of the living water the Messiah would bring about 700 years before Jesus came to earth.
“All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You without money, come, buy, and eat! Yes, come! Buy wine and milk without money – it’s free!” Isaiah 55:1
I want the living water Jesus offers me, and yet I keep trying to find satisfaction and in my own abilities and accomplishments. Anything that gets in the way of knowing Him actually puts me at a disadvantage. The apostle Paul says the very same thing after listing his achievements. He says this,
“But the things that used to be advantages for me, I have, because of the Messiah, come to consider a disadvantage. Not only that, but I consider everything in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua as my Lord. It is because of Him that I gave up everything and regard it as garbage, in order to gain the Messiah and be found in union with Him, not having a righteousness of my own based on legalism, but having a righteousness which comes through the Messiah’s faithfulness, the righteousness from God based on trust. Yes, I gave it all up in order to know Him, that is, to know the power of His resurrection and fellowship of His sufferings as I am being conformed to His death, so that somehow I might arrive at be resurrected from the dead.” Philippians 3:7-11
Dear Jesus,
Please give me a heart that wants to know You above all else. I know I want the living water You offer, and yet I keep trying to find satisfaction and in my own abilities and accomplishments. Anything that gets in the way of knowing You puts me at a disadvantage. Thank You for being so patient with me.
*All the above verses are quoted from the Complete Jewish Study Bible. I love reading Scripture as if I were there, recognizing Jesus (Yeshua) as the Messiah, after looking for Him so many years!