knowing Christ

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We’ve all encountered someone who later turned out to be much different than we originally thought. Maybe they presented as the perfect, compassionate friend only to turn on us when we didn’t meet their expectations. Or perhaps the opposite occurred and we assumed someone was shallow or selfish or irresponsible, only to discover, when life became hard, they showed themselves to be steady, present, and unshakable.

It’s so easy to misjudge someone and assign selfish motives or ill intent. For years, I did this to my husband, and it nearly destroyed our marriage. He and I are different in so many ways, including how we receive and express love. I’m a “quality time” person who measures the health of our relationship based on the depth of our conversations. He’s a provider and protector at heart whom will spend hours if not days searching for that perfect gift and earning the income to provide it.

Not being a “gift” person, I not only didn’t understand this, but in my misunderstanding, I assumed his motives were as opposite to truth as possible. In my thinking, he loved his job more than my daughter and I and was merely buying us presents or trinkets to appease us. But then we went through a difficult financial period and I watched him sacrifice time, energy, sleep—everything—for us. I’ve seen this again and again. When times become difficult, his inner hero emerges, casting out all doubt regarding who he is and the depth of his love.

We see the true nature and affections of a person during difficult circumstances, or as a former publishing colleague once put it, “Squeeze a sponge and what’s inside comes out.” Likely we can all attest to the truth in that statement, not just in regard to others, but in relation to Christ as well.

I’ve shared previously how my view of God has shifted over the years. The more I come to know Him, the clearer His heart becomes. Through difficulties, upheavals, and uncertainties, He’s revealed misconceptions and allowed my faslehoods to surface so that my heart can become, ever-deeper, anchored in truth. When it felt as if my world were spinning out of control, He held me and worked my chaos to good. When it seemed as if everyone else had abandoned me, He remained and drew me close. When bitterness welled within and even my prayers turned angry, He spoke words of love to my breaking heart.

Again and again, through hard times and good, God has shown me His love and faithfulness are beyond anything I could expect or imagine. However, He’s revealed Himself most clearly through the cross. If I ever doubt who He is and how He feels, not just about me but for all His creation, may God remind me, afresh, of the price He paid. May that dark moment in history forever be a beacon to my heart and yours, a reminder of who Christ is at His core.

In John chapter 13, shortly before His death, Jesus gathered His disciples close and explained to them all that was to come. “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with Me will betray Me” He said (v. 23, NLT). “For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago” (v. 24, NLT). What’s more, “All of you will desert Me” (Mark 14:27a, NLT). He told them He was going to die but that He would also rise again.

After His betrayer had left, Jesus said to His precious friends, “Now is the Son glorified and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify the Son in Himself, and will glorify Him at once” (John 13:31, NIV).

Christ was glorified on and through the cross, an act that Scripture reveals as “the very lowest point of His degradation” but which “John’s gospel always represents as the very highest point of His glory.” For the cross glorified Christ “in two ways. It was the revelation of His heart; it was the throne of His sovereign power” (MacLaren).

This is what it means to be glorified, edoxasthē in the original Greek. It’s ascribing God His true value and recognizing or acknowledging Him for who He truly is and honoring Him in that.

On the cross, we see Jesus’ unchanging nature: the victorious, self-sacrificing God who loves His children fiercely and will stop at nothing to draw us close. In His resurrection, we see His sovereignty over death and sin.

Through Christ’s horrific death, God the Father and God the Son received clear and immeasurable glory, casting a beam of truth and grace upon all mankind.

And now that we’ve seen Him for who He truly is, He invites us to live in that truth. To live changed, for Christ’s grace and truth, when received, always lead to transformation, so that we too, His redeemed children, are revealed in how we live and love.

Or to put is perhaps more simply: Jesus showed who He truly is and the depth of His love through sacrifice. I must do the same.

Let’s talk about this! How often do you pause to contemplate all Christ did on the cross and what that reveals about Him? When has His death and resurrection felt most real to you?

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Speaking of thoughts that produce gratitude and praise … YouVersion has recently released Jennifer Slattery’s Bible reading plan, Bible reading plan imageCultivating a Thankful Heart–just in time for Thanksgiving! You can check it out HERE.

 

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woman looking toward a cloudy sky and text pulled from the post

Our relationship with Christ begins and is sustained through surrender. With every crisis and uncertainty, as we close our eyes and, with boldness, relinquish our grip, we land firm and secure in our Savior’s hands. It’s then that we realize He truly is loving, faithful, all-powerful, attentive, and true.

For most of my life, I held a very distorted view of God. I knew intellectually that He was loving and kind. At least, that was the Sunday school answer I would have given, if asked. But my actions, most specifically my fears, demonstrated my true beliefs—beliefs hidden so deep, my conscious mind wasn’t even aware they were there. Through a series of events, God allowed my world to completely unravel. At least, that was what it felt like. In reality, He was unraveling lies and fears that were never meant to be part of my world so that I could truly come alive—in Him.

This all began when my husband quit his job—twice, actually, in under a year—and moved our family, quite literally, across the country. Through what became a three-year upheaval period, God allowed all my fears and insecurities to rise to the surface, uncovering the lies attached to them. In this, I came to realize, though I claimed God was my provider, sustainer, protector, guide, and friend, my continual fight for control proved I believed otherwise. In many ways, I knew of God, but I didn’t truly know God, not at the deep, peace-sustaining level.

If I had, I would have understood I had no cause for alarm and no reason to self-protect or fight for control. As I surrendered, through gritted teeth at first, I came to understand just how true all those truths Scripture revealed truly were. That terrifying, mind-shifting experience resulted in an intimacy with Christ I hadn’t even thought to pursue prior, and a much deeper understanding of who He is.

I’m learning to say, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider quote on knowing Christ and a picture of a candle.everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord …” (Phil. 3:7-8, NIV).

Those words in Philippians were written by an ancient church planter named Paul who truly had forsaken all things in order to know Christ. Prior to his conversation, he’d known of God but he didn’t come to truly know Him, personally and intimately, until He surrendered. And through his continual surrender, his intimacy with Christ grew to a level I suspect few of us will experience, because few of us will ever truly understand what it means to say, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21).

As I said, our relationship begins and is sustained—is deepened and fueled—I through surrender. As we rely on Him—His power, protection, strength, and provision—our understanding moves from mere intellectual assent to a deep and abiding knowledge that forms within a strong, unshakable foundation.

“This is eternal life,” Christ said, while praying to the Father, “that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3, NIV). The word our Bibles translate as know, ginóskó in the original Greek, points to a deep intimacy acquired through experience. But even this word lacks some of the depth revealed through its Hebrew counterpart, yada. This is the same word Scripture uses to describe the union Adam and Eve experienced through intercourse. Genesis 4:1 says, “now the man knew his wife Eve ..” (NRSV).

Our culture has turned sex into something selfish and ugly, but God designed this most intimate of acts to, in some mysterious way, unite two individuals into one. It’s a complete unveiling of oneself, a living “naked but not afraid.” To know one another fully, without shame or fear.

This is the level of intimacy Christ longs for with us, to usher us into a relationship so fulfilling, we, like Paul, would consider all else rubbish for the sake of knowing, truly knowing, Him.

We reach that place of ever-increasing intimacy through surrender.

Let’s talk about this! How does surrender lead to a deeper intimacy with Christ? When have you found this to be true? If surrender deepens our knowledge of Him, how can lack of surrender hinder this?

Share your thoughts with us in the comments below, because we can all learn from and encourage one another!

Before you go, I have fun news. Wholly Loved Ministries has released their next Bible reading plan, 20 Days of Relational Health! You can find it HERE.

Our hearts crave deep, lasting connections–to know we are loved and belong. This Bible reading plan will help you Image for Wholly Loved's Relational Health Bible Reading Plangrow in your relationships as you learn to love others well, speak and live in truth, and set the healthy boundaries that will allow your relationships to thrive.

Connect with Jennifer Slattery on Facebook and Instragram. Check out her blog on Crosswalk HERE.