If you’ve been reading my blog you’ll know I’m blogging through Kyle Idleman’s book “Not a Fan.” (You can catch up here.) Today I’m discussing the second question in diagnosing fandom: do you just know about Jesus or do you really know Him?
So, do you know Jesus? Or do you know Jesus?
I think this is a pretty self explanatory question but maybe not.
Maybe we need to take a look at what we mean by “know”.
In the book Kyle talks about know as in a husband “knowing” his wife…like how Adam “knew” Eve.
An interesting side note here the Hebrew word for “know” in this instance is yada. Did you know that the definition for yada is to know completely and be completely known? So that means every time I’ve said yada, yada, yada as a filler in a story I’ve actually been doing the opposite of what the word means! (It also reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where George’s girlfriend yada, yada, yada-ed over stealing things, etc…but that is a whole different post altogether!)
So back to Adam and Eve.
Adam yada Eve…and vice versa.
And that is exactly what God wants from us. He wants to be known completely. (He already knows us completely.)
In Luke 7 Jesus is invited to dinner at the home of Simon who was a Pharisee. Simon who spent his life memorizing the scriptures knew all about the Messiah…but he didn’t know he had just invited Him to dinner. And Simon does not treat Jesus like the honored guest He was.
No, it took a prostitute crashing the party to point out who Jesus really was.
Luke 7:44-46 – Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
So who was the fan and who was the follower?
When is the last time you had a moment with jesus like this woman in Luke 7 had? When’s the last time you’ve poured yourself out before Him? When is the last time the tears streamed down your face as you expressed your love for Him? When is the last time you demonstrated your love for Him with reckless abandonment? – Kyle Idleman
When indeed?
Blessings!
When in your life have you been a fan? When have you been a follower? Is there anything else on your heart today? Join the conversation below and share in the blessings!