When the children of Israel were in the wilderness they were being led, but one must wonder who most of them were following, Moses or God? One could say they were following the Lord because Moses was following God, and so Moses was simply an intermediate, and thereby the one they followed, yet that would need to infer an incredible level of trust. We have in a way the same dilemma, as it were, but with no excuse, for we have the complete and inerrant Word of God, but how many people are following after Christ, and how many after the one who stands behind the pulpit each Sunday morning? “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.” (Jer. 17:5)
To those that we reach out to that do not know the Lord Jesus as Savior, there must be some form of trust that what we are speaking about we have knowledge of, and who we are speaking about, we have a personal relationship with. If you have a brother, sister, friend or someone that you have known for many years and you meet someone who asks you about them that has never met that person, they would more than likely accept your description of that person from you, for you have an intimate knowledge of who they are, what type of person they are.
Can you do that when you are telling someone about Christ? It is, or should be quite easy for you to answer the question from that lost soul when they ask of you, “Who do you say Jesus Christ is?” The answer is simple, and assured in your heart, “He is my Lord and Master.” But what if their next question is, “What is He like?”
In this short, poorly written letter, you have the opportunity to answer that question in your mind without someone actually asking it of you, and your answer will show to you just how much of a personal relationship you truly have with Him, with whom you say you love and serve. This goes far beyond what the Scriptures tell us about our Lord, this is more than what you have read in books written by men and women expounding on Him, well past all those sermons you have heard, or the words that have been spoken to you by those who profess to know Jesus as savior, this is who you say He is. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (1 Peter 3:15)
Can you do that, can you tell that unbeliever about the reason that you love Him, can you go beyond what He has done for you, what He did for everyone who has ever been born, (John 3:16) can you tell them about the One you call your Friend? I fear for many who call themselves Christians that they can do no more than regurgitate what they have read or heard about Him, that they are perhaps just a notch or two above a mynah bird, and that the One they call Lord, who may indeed be their Savior, they can no more expound upon than the latest book they read or television program they watched.
This conversation, this expounding upon the person of Jesus Christ would come not only from the intellect, but from the heart, and if expressed in such a way that glorifies God, would draw that unrepentant sinner into a desire of their own to know this greatest of friends, the One who offers eternal life, who gave His life for you and me because He loves us, the One who has promised to never leave me or forsake me. (Deut. 31:8) The question is this in all truth, who do you know better, your closest, most personal friend or family member, or Jesus Christ?