Do You Know Jesus?
One of my most favorite Country Singers ever is Carrie Underwood, well, right behind Kathy Mattea that is. So maybe I should state this another way, the biggest star to me in Country Music is Carrie Underwood, yes, that is better. I am a Country Music fan and a fan of Contemporary Christian Music, so Carrie Underwood with her hits like “Jesus Take the Wheel”, “So Small”, “Temporary Home”, and “Something in The Water” tugs at my heart and attention. Now as a singer who has got to do a ‘little’ work around the Nashville area, I get asked from time to time if I have met or know anyone famous. I have even been asked if I have got to meet anyone super famous yet.
Well, let’s look at what you call meeting or “knowing” someone. Also, while we are looking at whether I “know” Carrie or not, let’s compare it to all the ways people (that includes us) say they “know” Jesus, and who really knows Carrie and who really knows Jesus. Let’s look at where Carrie works. Her career is based out of Nashville. Her husband works in Nashville (he is a hockey player for the Predators, a Nashville based team), her record label is in Nashville. I could say I know her because of the work that I have done in Nashville, and to someone who doesn’t work in Nashville or know anything about it, they might be enticed to believe me. That seems pretty farfetched, doesn’t it? But if you think about it, some people say they know Jesus because they work in a church and so does Jesus. People will even put in the effort to find a church that is being super blessed by all the work Jesus is doing there and say to everyone, including themselves, that they must know Jesus because they work out of the same building, group of people, city, state… The list can go on, but just like I can’t possibly know Carrie just because we’ve done work in the same area, people can’t know Jesus just because they’ve been in a church. Perhaps we should not take people at their word when they say they are a Christian or because they go to church? Let’s look deeper into whether I know Carrie or not to see if we can figure out who “knows” Jesus as well.
So how about her music? After all, I can say that I know all her songs, how long they are, which albums they are on, what radio stations play them, etc., etc.. I could even go so far as to say I’ve sang with Carrie! Ha, ha, in my truck while she sang to me through my radio! (please see the humor in this) I have taken vocal lessons and studied her tone and vocal style. In fact, if you go to Renee Grant-Williams website (a Nashville based vocal coach, probably the best in the business), you will see she has Carrie listed as her client. I have taken vocal lessons from Christy Sutherland, who is a protege of Renee, so shouldn’t I be able to say I know Carrie through her music and vocal coaching? Hmm… Can you see by now how people might say they know Jesus by this method? They (we) have read the Bible, know the hymns, quote scripture, point out things that Jesus did and reference them to things they (we) do, even know some facts about Jesus’ disciples along with some church history… Oh how the list can go on and on again. Truly, this can still be knowing facts about someone, and not really knowing them. It’s getting deeper huh? I’m having to work a little harder now to prove that I know Carrie, aren’t I? So how then can we know if I know Carrie or not?
How about this: to truly “know” someone, you have to have a relationship with them. So let’s see if I have a relationship with Carrie or not. Well, I obviously know a little about her marriage to Mike Fisher, the hockey player mentioned earlier, and I can tell you by her Instagram and Facebook pages a little about her daily routine and favorite makeup styles. I have even looked into her workout regimen and can tell you some about her latest business venture with her line of workout clothing and swimsuits, called Calia. I could probably persuade those that don’t know Carrie that I have a relationship with her by sheer amounts of facts about her and speaking with a confident air about myself.
The sad reality is that I don’t know Carrie, and many that say they know Jesus don’t actually know Him. Carrie has never talked to me, and I have never talked to Carrie. How many people call themselves “Christians” that have never been talked to by Jesus and have never talked to Him either? I want to believe that this number of people is less, but if there is just one person that falls under this false knowing of Jesus, than it is one person too many. Now, we know that there is many that don’t know Jesus because He tells us in John 4:35; Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white already unto harvest. Don’t get me wrong, we need to memorize scripture, study it, sing hymns, go to church, give our money, self, and time as sacrifices, so that we can recognize when God is speaking to us and/or guiding us. When it all comes down to “knowing” Jesus, do we really have a relationship with Him? John 14: 7 If ye had known me, ye would have known my Father also: from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Here’s the great part about this, Eph. 2; 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Jesus has given us the most awesome opportunity ever! This opportunity is to get to “know” Jesus and to have a relationship with Him! John 10; 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. I don’t know if I will ever get the opportunity to meet Carrie Underwood or get to have a relationship with her in my lifetime here on Earth, but I know that I have been given the opportunity to “know” Jesus, I have accepted His invitation, and He continues to grow our relationship daily as I come alongside Him, listen to His voice, and surrender my life to Him!
Do you know Jesus?
