Isn't a "Relationship" with Jesus what I need? Yes, and no. The Bible never says that we need just some "relationship," any "relationship" with Jesus. Instead, we are told of several specific relationships that involve people who know who they are, and who recognize the voice of Jesus and obey it.
Yes, and no.
Judas Iscariot had a “relationship” with Jesus. He betrayed Jesus. There is a well-defined “relationship” between a betrayer and his betrayed. Judas’ “relationship” with Jesus, as one who had been one of his twelve closest companions, was both “close” and “personal.” And Judas’ betrayal of Jesus was very “personal.” But these “relationships” did not save Judas!
Jesus called Judas a devil.
In the same way, the political and religious leaders of the Jews during Jesus’ lifetime on earth had two well-defined “relationships” with Him. They were his “betrayers” and his “murderers.” But being a betrayer and a murderer of Jesus did not save them.
And today, today, most people are “strangers” to Jesus. Being “strangers,” people who don’t know each other, is a “relationship.” But being strangers to Jesus does not save them.
The Bible never says that we need just some “relationship,” any “relationship” with Jesus. Instead, we are told of several specific relationships that illustrate or are like the relationship Jesus wants to have with us. All of these relationships involve people who know who they are, and who recognize the voice of Jesus and obey it.
I will discuss these specific relationships in the posts that follow.
Next: The Good Shepherd and His Sheep.
