“I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11).

The opening verse for last week’s Chaplain’s Corner was from Job 19:25 “I know that my Redeemer Lives.” This is a powerful verse. Because this is the Truth—the Redeemer lives, and one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. But, can you say, “I know Christ?”  Because being able to say you know your Redeemer puts you on the right side of Jesus—where you can speak this truth knowing you will be living forever with your Redeemer, rather than acknowledging this truth from a position of forever looking on but not being with.

Here’s an example: For a long time, I knew that deep sea diving would be fascinating, but I didn’t know about it personally until I tried it for myself. Not until I jumped into the ocean to swim among the fishes and coral reefs could I really know the incredible seemingly infinite wonders of the deep sea. That’s just a sliver of an example of the difference between knowing that Jesus lives — there is historical proof of his life, death, and resurrection — and knowing Jesus Himself.

How can we go beyond knowing the fact to actually knowing the Saviour?

1. We must trust our equipment. When I dive, I am equipped. I cannot dive without my equipment, especially my tanks which supply oxygen for breathing. When Jesus walked the earth, those around him could physically interact with him. They could actually touch him, speak with him, eat with him, and get to know him personally. But now that he has ascended to the right hand of God, we must have equipment, and in our case, it is the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures, to access Jesus. Jesus speaks to us through the Scriptures, and he resides in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. And trust me, this equipment is as life supporting as are my oxygen tanks. Trust the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit when they tell you Jesus died for your sins and that receiving this gift means eternal life (Romans 6:23).
2. We must practice regularly. It is easy to get out of the habit of knowing what to do when you go for a long time without actually doing it. You get rusty. If you go too long between dives, you should take a refresher course. Jumping back in without regular practice is not impossible, but it is not as easy either, and you never get better at it (2 Timothy 2:15).
3. We must go all in. You can’t just half-way dive or be casual about it. Your head is either under water or it’s not. And if it’s not, then you are not scuba diving (Romans 12:1-2).

Granted, this is not the best analogy because I no longer dive, but I’m still all-in with Jesus. I gave up on diving, so it gave up on me. But thank God, Jesus will never give up on me! There’s really no comparison with knowing Jesus, because once you really know him and accept him as your Saviour, then He knows you and the relationship cannot be undone. It is forever!

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

In Christ,

Judy