Me and Jesus -- A Personal Relationship

Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you . . . will be saved (Acts 16:30-31).

I should be calmer when I hear the disdain of those who, by their education and training, should know better. Yet despite such education they ridicule the idea of a personal relationship with Jesus. 

I should be calm, but I am not. The idea of experiencing a vibrant relationship with Christ is too much a part of me to let such wrongheaded challenges go unanswered. I get annoyed to hear them say Jesus’ salvation is not an individual experience, but rather a communal experience. "Me and Jesus” – they say – is erroneous theology, unknown to the Church until the post-reformation period.

It could be that those who scorn the idea of “me and Jesus” mean something other than what it sounds like they mean. It could be they find no place in Scripture for ‘me-ism” Christianity. 

And such an assertion would be correct. There is no place in Scripture for a maverick faith, no Biblical reason for a Christian to avoid fellowship with the larger community (e.g. Psalm 95:6; Psalm 133; Hebrews 10:25). Nevertheless, there have always been (and probably always will be) Christians who offer many excuses to hold themselves aloof from the Body.

 
I’ve met people like that. Who hasn't? But as St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, “If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Romans 3:3-4).

So, perhaps that is what those who mock the idea of ‘me and Jesus’ mean when they disparage the relationship I and so many millions of Christians have enjoyed over the millennia.
 

But if that is not what they mean, their viewpoint irritates me because not only have I had a personal, intimate and maturing relationship with Jesus during the last 43 years, but a personal salvation is clearly illustrated throughout the Scripture – and has been the experience of millions of Christians throughout Church history, dating to the apostles themselves.

St. Paul wrote to Timothy, It is a trustworthy statement, worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost (emphasis mine). The apostle also wrote, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 121); and, If any one be in Christ he is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). St. Luke recorded Jesus’ words about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son (Luke 15). St. Matthew records Jesus’ promise that the hairs of our head – yours and mine – are all numbered by the Father (Matthew 10:30).

As I sit here typing, dozens and dozens of Biblical texts are rolling around in my memory -- and perhaps also in yours --- all of which shout the truth that ‘me and Jesus” is a God-ordained and God-desired Biblical experience rooted in the supernatural relationship that God offers individuals like me and you.

A personal relationship.

What else could king David have meant when he wrote, O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all (Psalm 139:1-4).

A personal relationship.

Why else would the Lord Jesus have left the ninety-nine sheep in the fold of the community and search for the one individual? For someone like 'me.'

And you.

As I said, perhaps those who snipe at the ‘me and Jesus’ idea really take issue with the unsupportable position of maverick Christianity. But if they believe -- as their accusations seem to imply -- that there is no Biblical justification for "me and Jesus', then I hope they will reconsider the whole of Scripture, and not just texts taken out of context. 

"Me and Jesus" is a Bible-based reality that can change our lives forever.

Bang, Bang. You're Dead

The message of the Last Judgment calls men to conversion while God is still giving them "the acceptable time . . . the day of salvation." It inspires a holy fear of God . . . . (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1041)

Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve. (Joshua 24:15)

Exhaustion swept over me. It had been a long day at Disneyland with my young children, and I looked forward to plopping into bed at our motel room. As we stood on the corner waiting for the light to change, a red convertible raced past us and someone on the passenger side shot at me with a high-pressure water rifle. I looked up in time to hear my assailant shout, "Bang, Bang. You’re dead."  

It happened so quickly I never had time to think about ducking for cover and protecting my kids. For a moment I stood motionless and incredulous. Did that really happen? Did he really shoot me? I looked at my shirt. Yes, he did. I was soaked.

Several emotions swelled within me. None were kind. I clenched my fists and glared at the tail lights disappearing into the collage of vehicles now at the other end of the block. I considered giving chase, but realized I'd never outrun them, and besides, I didn't know what I would have done if I caught up with the guy – or what he might have further done to me if I had.  So I stood there, fuming and frustrated - until the full weight of what could have happened settled over me. When it did, anger gave way to fear. My shirt could be saturated with my blood instead of water. I rubbed my hand across my chest. I could be lying dead on the pavement.

And then, inexplicably, as I stood there on the corner, the oddest sense of calm settled over me. No, “calm” does not faithfully describe the emotion that flooded into my mind. Comfort is a better word. Or maybe peace.

Let me explain.

Many years earlier I made a disturbing discovery about myself. I came face to face with the truth that my life was a cacophony of excuses and lies, rebellion, selfishness, and arrogance. I cringed o realize who I really was and how many people I had hurt.

At the same time, I made another discovery. Despite my sin, God loved me. Despite my willful defiance, God offered me forgiveness. Despite my rebellion, He offered me a new relationship as a son with a Father. All I had to do was take the first step and apologize to Him for my many sins, follow Him in the waters of baptism, and invite Jesus to be Lord of my life. I could hardly believe it all could be true.

But it was.

In December 1972 God opened for me the floodgates of His love. I knew instinctively that He wiped the slate of my past absolutely clean, adopted me into His great Family and made me His child. He promised through the Scripture I would never be alone in my heartaches because He would be with me wherever I was and through whatever I endured. But best of all, He gave me His unalterable oath that when my life on earth ends, I will live with Him in His eternal kingdom.

Had that water been lead, I would have awakened in a place where there is no more death, no more tears, no more heartache, no more fear, no more separation, and no more loss.

God used a street corner “wet-down” to sharpen my focus. A drive-by shooting, an accidental fall . . . death can strike in an instant. I am grateful to Him that I do not have to worry about making last-moment decisions about eternity.

Royal Blood Line

So I'm skimming one of the social media ads, hovering momentarily at one link before jumping to another. Then another. Just passing time while Nancy makes dinner.

And then I happened on an ad from a genealogical website: "Do You Come from Royal Blood?"

I know enough of my ancestry to know my progenitors eked out meager lives in Jewish shtetls across parts of Europe. But as quickly as I dismissed the idea of any royal blood in my past, the thought evaporated into a second:

“Of course I come from Royal Blood! My Father is the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. And He adopted me into His family and made me His son when He purchased me with His own Royal blood.”

I nearly shouted out loud at the realization.

Some find great personal value – even personal worth – knowing their blood line flows backward to earthly kings or queens or princes or dukes. I think it sad that some people find personal worth in an ancestry of aristocracy – many of whose royal bones by now have turned to dust.

It is sad because the King of the universe invites anyone of any race, class, rank, or stature to become part of His royal blood line – and to find their value, their self-worth in things which will never turn to dust; things of eternal substance.

All one needs to do is bow at the foot of the cross and say to Jesus – “I am Thine, O Lord. I have heard Thy voice. Please consecrate me to Thy service, and make my will to be lost in Thine.”

Pie in the Sky

Sometimes some accuse me of being too much a ‘pie-in-the-sky’ kind of guy who looks too much toward heaven when there is so much work to be done on earth to create our own Eden. Too much an eye, they say, toward children’s fairy tales, Sunday school fables, and gullible promises of something better.

Oh! For something better.

When the Creator of Something Better is tossed out of our culture and depravity is exalted among us by politicians and judges, educators and administrators, clergy and laity . . . We expect something better without Him?

How do we yet wonder that evil is so free to grip the soul and darken the heart of one who strolls into a theater and mercilessly murders strangers? Why do we wonder why evil is so free to poison the hearts of those who ruin children -- and of those who turn blind eyes to the seduction of innocents in university locker rooms and grade school classes? Why do we wonder how evil is so free to flash welcoming smiles at mothers a hundred-thousand times a month in America – a hundred-thousand times a month – who bring their pre-born to a clinic for slaughter?

No wonder the psalmist warned, "The wicked strut about on every side when vileness is exalted among the sons of men."  (Psalm 12:8)

As we thrust God ever further from our churches, our schools, our governments, our markets – and evil grows in its boldness to ravage – mockers still mock me for looking for that place called heaven for something better?

Yes, I look. As a parched deer gasps to find water, I yearn for fulfillment of the promised ‘better.’ Promises like:

Your eyes shall see the King in His beauty. They shall behold a far-distant land. And no resident there shall say, “I am sick.” And everyone there will be forgiven their iniquities.¹

Promises like: Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along. ‘For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone . . . ‘The fig tree has ripened its figs, and the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance. Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along!’”²

Oh, Lord. Come quickly.

^{1) Isaiah 33:17, 24 (NASB)}

^{2) Song of Solomon 2:10-13 (NASB)}