March, 2016

  Recently, I’ve been meditating on this very important truth: that we were created in Christ to know God intimately. My aim this year is to help you and your family see the importance of knowing God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. As I write each article of the Chariot of Fire, I will present a lesson with a demonstration or exercise you can easily share with your family that will help you grow in your knowledge of God.

 

Scripture

      Philip  said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”  Jesus  said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. (John 14:8-10).

 

A True Story

    Years ago I double-booked speaking engagements on the same weekend – a state homeschool conference in Washington and another one in Canada. Thankfully I was made aware of the mistake almost three months in advance. After much prayer, a solution came to mind. I determined to honor my commitment to the one who had asked me first, then I begged the pardon of the second party and offered a possible solution to the problem of my needing to be in two places at the same time. With the approval of my son, I suggested that instead of having me speak, Micah would present three of my messages, but from his perspective. I’m sure it was with fear and trembling that the conference organizer agreed to such an arrangement.

    There was also some concern on my end. I was sending my son in my name with my messages. In a sense, my reputation was in his hands. My first thought was that I had three months to get him ready. My second thought was that he was ready. So I encouraged him to simply present the messages from his perspective, trusting that God would give him the grace he needed.

    As I continued to think about it, I realized the correlation between my sending Micah and God sending His Son in His name with His message. In sending His Son, God was glorifying and honoring him. In the same sense, I was glorifying and honoring Micah to ask him to go in my place. He had proven himself to be trustworthy, so I was confident regarding his representing me.

     One of the benefits to Micah would be his growth from trusting God through the experience. His faith would be stretched. Additionally, I knew it would be an exercise of love for him to take on this responsibility.

    The weekend of ministry came and went. Weeks later, I received the attendees' comments on their sessions. Overall, the evaluations were positive, encouraging, and helpful for growth.

 

One Comment

    There was one comment that stood out to me. The comment read, “It was more powerful to have the son than to have the father.” The evaluator continued to express how he realized as he watched and listened to my son that he was seeing the real fruit of my life, which he couldn’t have seen had I been the presenter. He said it made the message more powerful and convincing. This punctuated the entire experience with a huge exclamation mark and gave me a deeper understanding of the relationship of the Father and the Son, especially as it is described in the Scripture passage above.

    Did you realize that the way to really know the Father is by knowing His Son? Read the following in light of what I’ve said and you’ll see the truth with greater clarity.

 

    “I have come in My Father’s name. . .” (John 5:43).

    “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works” (John 14:10).

      “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

      “So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me” (John8:28).

      “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49).

      But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working” (John5:17).

 

    Eternal life is knowing God, the Father, the one true God, and His Son, Jesus Christ (John 17:3). Jesus clearly defined who has eternal life when He said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). Please notice that one doesn’t have eternal life because he believes, but his faith is evidence that he already has eternal life. Because a person has eternal life in the Father and the Son, God grants him faith so he can know without a shadow of a doubt that he has been known by God and that he can know God.

     If you want to know God, then as you read the gospels and observe the life of Christ and hear His words, realize that you have a very powerful testimony of the reality of God. The Son was sent by the Father to serve and minister in His name, to do His work by His grace, as a testimony of the Father’s love, confidence, and honor for His Son. The Son came to reveal the Father – do His work, speak His words, and glorify the Father through His words and deeds – so that we may really know what He is like and believe His Word. Meditate on these words.

    “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me” (John 17:6-8).

    Have you realized the wisdom and power revealed in Jesus Christ? Have you read your Bible to know God through Jesus Christ? I think it is important to teach this lesson to your children, and one of the best ways is to ask God to give you a way to demonstrate the great truths revealed in the passages above.

 

Demonstration

    I think you will benefit the most if I don’t actually give you a demonstration, but if instead you ask God how you can teach this lesson to your children by sending them on a mission in your name. Ask the Lord to show you the best way to do this. You might share with them my story with my son, then God’s story with His Son. Then send your children on a “mission” where you can’t control them. What things go through your head as you consider this project? What fears? What concerns? Are there things you think about teaching them before you send them out? What are they and why? What will you do with these thoughts and emotions? Ask your children what thoughts, fears, and concerns they have.

    You can learn something about the Father and the Son through this experience because certainly there are some corollaries. What things do you think the Father and the Son experienced together that are similar to what you and your children experience? I believe that if you will not ignore this lesson but will do it, you and your family will grow in your knowledge of God the Father and Jesus Christ, His Son. I would love to hear from those of you who give this demonstration a try. You can comment on my Facebook page, email me, or message me from Facebook. I look forward to hearing about your experience.