Will You Acknowledge Jesus?
32 “Whoever acknowledges me (Jesus) before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
Reflection: Jesus gives us a challenging warning today when he states that whoever will not acknowledge him here on earth, he will not acknowledge in heaven. Indeed the scariest words we might hear on judgment day are, "Away from me I never knew you!" Of course we know that this is not God's heart, as He wants everyone to acknowledge Jesus and be saved. God is not willing that any should perish but all would come to a knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter 3:9
And since Jesus plainly states that He is the way, the truth and the life, logically it flows that if one denies the way the truth and the life, they cannot be saved. The other stories which show the deep love of the Father show the many ways and lengths God goes to show us His love, even by sending. His own Son to die on the cross for us. So it is not as though God wants to disown anyone, but the fact remain that some it appears will die rejecting that love God has shown them in Jesus, His Son.
Some might say, "that sounds pretty judgmental", but I wonder who is making that judgment. God has placed judgment for our sin on the cross and He has become sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God through faith. When we receive that free gift that frees us from sin, death, and the power of the devil; it would be natural for us to acknowledge that before others. After all, why would one not want to acknowledge the one who saved them and did for them what we could not do for ourselves.
I also don't think this means pushing our faith in Jesus on others whether they want to hear it or not. As we live out our lives with Jesus leading us, there will be occasions for us to acknowledge what we believe in. Oftentimes it is easy to talk about God because that is acceptable in society, but talking about Jesus can often make people uncomfortable. Yet people are comfortable using His name as a swear word. When you remember that Jesus is the Son of God, that he went to the cross to die for you and me, does it make sense that using his name as a cuss word is okay but to talk about him in public as Savior is politically incorrect?
We should have the same line of thinking and boldness as the apostle Paul, who says in the 1st chapter of Romans,
"16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith."
Jesus wasn't ashamed of us when he hung on a cross, was taunted, mocked, scourged and whipped. Will we be ashamed of him when we are called to give an answer for the hope we have?
Jesus thank you for acknowledging us when you died for us. Give us the courage to be bold for you even when it is not comfortable to so do so, knowing Your Holy Spirit will give is the right words to say when we are called upon to give an answer for the hope we have been given in you. Amen.
Reflection: Jesus gives us a challenging warning today when he states that whoever will not acknowledge him here on earth, he will not acknowledge in heaven. Indeed the scariest words we might hear on judgment day are, "Away from me I never knew you!" Of course we know that this is not God's heart, as He wants everyone to acknowledge Jesus and be saved. God is not willing that any should perish but all would come to a knowledge of the truth. 2 Peter 3:9
And since Jesus plainly states that He is the way, the truth and the life, logically it flows that if one denies the way the truth and the life, they cannot be saved. The other stories which show the deep love of the Father show the many ways and lengths God goes to show us His love, even by sending. His own Son to die on the cross for us. So it is not as though God wants to disown anyone, but the fact remain that some it appears will die rejecting that love God has shown them in Jesus, His Son.
Some might say, "that sounds pretty judgmental", but I wonder who is making that judgment. God has placed judgment for our sin on the cross and He has become sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God through faith. When we receive that free gift that frees us from sin, death, and the power of the devil; it would be natural for us to acknowledge that before others. After all, why would one not want to acknowledge the one who saved them and did for them what we could not do for ourselves.
I also don't think this means pushing our faith in Jesus on others whether they want to hear it or not. As we live out our lives with Jesus leading us, there will be occasions for us to acknowledge what we believe in. Oftentimes it is easy to talk about God because that is acceptable in society, but talking about Jesus can often make people uncomfortable. Yet people are comfortable using His name as a swear word. When you remember that Jesus is the Son of God, that he went to the cross to die for you and me, does it make sense that using his name as a cuss word is okay but to talk about him in public as Savior is politically incorrect?
We should have the same line of thinking and boldness as the apostle Paul, who says in the 1st chapter of Romans,
"16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith."
Jesus wasn't ashamed of us when he hung on a cross, was taunted, mocked, scourged and whipped. Will we be ashamed of him when we are called to give an answer for the hope we have?
Jesus thank you for acknowledging us when you died for us. Give us the courage to be bold for you even when it is not comfortable to so do so, knowing Your Holy Spirit will give is the right words to say when we are called upon to give an answer for the hope we have been given in you. Amen.
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