One of my favorite movies this time of year is, “Elf”. It always makes me belly laugh. There’s one scene, however, that captures my feelings about Jesus. Buddy, the big elf raised by the North Pole elves, finds himself in a store preparing for Christmas. When he sees a sign that tells of Santa coming, he yells, “Santa?! Santa’s coming! I know him! I know that guy!”
Even though Buddy wasn’t a true elf, he’d been adopted by Santa,, a jolly man whom he had first-hand experiential knowledge.
As I read 1 John today, I pictured him writing with the same enthusiasm as Buddy!
“We proclaim to you The One who existed from the beginning, whom we have heard & seen. We SAW Him with our own eyes & TOUCHED him with our own hands! He IS the Word of life. We’ve seen Him & testify & proclaim to you that He is The One who IS eternal life!”
Ok, the caps & exclamation marks are mine, but do you feel the same excited “CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT?!” tone in his words?
Y’all! John & the apostles are FIRST HAND WITNESSES! They walked & talked & ate with the man who conquered death! They saw him crucified & then saw, touched & talked with him after he rose from death!
And here’s the thing-they had NOTHING to gain, but persecution & death for sticking to their story!
•John-boiled in oil & sent to exile
•Peter-crucified upside down during Nero’s persecution
•Andrew-tied to a cross where he preached while waiting to die
•James-beheaded by King Herod
There are many more, but the point is these men turned the world upside down by making it their life’s mission to share their Savior with anyone who’d listen!
Their first-hand knowing Jesus compelled them to proclaim to the masses, “I KNOW Him! I know that guy! He conquered death so that you might too! Can I introduce you to Him?!”
As the last day of November closes & the Christmas hustle & bustle rises, may we remember The One who saved us from eternal death! He loved us SO much that He died FOR us so we could become like Buddy but even better: Adopted sons and daughters of The Most High God!
We KNOW Him! We KNOW that guy! How might we create excitement among many if we let that “knowing” bubble over into our everyday lives?
💡DANIEL 7:1-28
💡1 JOHN 1:1-10
💡PSALM 119:153-176
💡PROVERBS 28:23-24
Comments