A Forgotten Friend

 

In the beginning was the word, and the word was towards God, and God was the word.  This was in the beginning towards God.  All came into being through it, and apart from it not even one thing came into being which has come into being.  In it was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light is appearing in the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not.  

Johns Account 1: 1-5, Concordant New Testament 

I have a friend who is fond of proclaiming whenever someone greets her, "I'm a work in progress."  That is, she is someone who is constantly changing as the world around her changes.  I recently took the opportunity to consider at her statement in the context of my own belief in Christ Jesus.  Better yet, in the context of my union life in Jesus and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  This is the question I pose, does Jesus need to improve on anything about Himself?  Before you think of an answer, consider the truth we find in the gospel of Christ.  That Jesus is more than simply a figurehead sitting at the Fathers side in heaven.  For this speaks to the false idea that He is somehow separated from Gods creation.  This is the lie which was spoken by the serpent to Eve in the garden {Genesis 3:1-6}.  That if she and Adam ate from the fruit which God had commanded them not to, that they would somehow "Be like God."  Could the first couple even be aware that they were already like God?  After all, it is God who created man in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  It is also God who, forming his flesh of the dust of the ground, breathed into man the breath of life creating a living soul {Genesis 2:7}.  So, how is it that man could ever be without the presence of the Father?  The apostle John proclaims that everything came into being through Christ Jesus {Johns Account 1:3}.  Knowing this tells us that Jesus has always been an intimate part of who it is we are.  Yet John also tells us that Jesus appeared in the darkness of the world, and the darkness grasped it not {Johns Account 1:5}.  Indeed, there will be those who do not recognize Him.  

The spirit of truth, which the world can not get, for it is not beholding it.  Yet you know it, for it is remaining with you and will be in you. 

Johns Account 14: 17, Concordant New Testament 

For anyone who has spoken to others concerning the gospel of Christ, we know that there will be those among us who know not Jesus.  Either they have never been introduced to Him on a personal level or they simply refuse to know Him.  I have come across both of these.  Yet, speaking of those who know OF Jesus, I believe that in many cases Jesus has become simply like a forgotten friend.  That is, someone they have known before but have forgotten.  They know of Christ and all of the stories of His life and ministry, but they have never experienced Him in their own lives.  I believe that my friend falls into this category.  Somewhere along the line, she has forgotten the truth of Jesus who has always been a part of her.  She is not a work in progress, but complete in Christ.  THAT is the truth of who she is.  Sadly, the world continues to adhere to the lie of the deceiver who proclaims that we are separated from God by sin.  This is another lie spoken for hundreds of years by those in the mainstream church.  The apostle Paul tells us that sin is no longer an issue {Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  Through the work of Christ Jesus, we are now dead to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  Dead to sin, yet alive to God in Christ Jesus {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  For those who continue to struggle with the sin narrative, I recommend these words spoken by Paul in Romans.  The truth of the gospel of Christ is that He has been with us from the beginning.  Will we remember Him?  

~Scott~