Day 9

If you’re going to look for Jesus, look for Him where He has revealed Himself.

‘If someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.’ (2 CORINTHIANS 11:4)

Paul tells the Christians in Corinth that it is possible to create their own Jesus. There are different versions of Jesus, usually tailored to fit our own particular needs or interests. It wasn’t unique to Corinth. It is easy to start with a sense of our needs, wants or aspirations, and design a Jesus who meets them.

How do we know the real Jesus? For a start, we don’t have to invent Him, for everything we know about Him in Scripture is sufficient for all we need to know. He was born, lived, acted and interacted with people, died, was raised and ascended to heaven. He not only taught the truth, He embodied the truth and IS the truth.

Everything we need to know about God, we see in Jesus. Someone once told me they had been encouraged to close their eyes and ask Jesus to reveal Himself to them. No, don’t do that. Open your eyes and read the revelation of Christ that He has given in His Word. As you do so, in a spirit of humility, He will step out of the Bible to become a living companion.

Are you getting to know the Christ of the Word?