From the Heart

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I’m still thinking about Christmas. What is running through my mind is that Christmas is as close as many will come to Christ, and yet still miss Him, very much like those we read about in the Gospels. They were present at the coming of Christ, and yet they were untouched by it. Some of them who grew up in the shadow of the Temple and read the Scriptures daily, met Wise Men who followed a heavenly sign, explained the Old Testament to them, and yet still missed everything. How can that be? So near, and yet so far!

A simple answer is that they were acquainted with Christ, but never really knew Him. He was in their head, but not in their heart. Experts say there are levels of relationships. Three of the most common are: recognition, acquaintance, and experience. When it comes to my relationship with Christ, I want to experience Him, or as the Bible says, to KNOW Him. 

Think about it for a moment. The Gospels introduce to us religious leaders, Chief Priests, Sadducees, Pharisees, and others who daily immersed themselves in Scripture and spent endless hours in Temple service and worship. They were daily exposed to all that God had given them to point them to the Messiah — even walked with the very Messiah Himself —   and they still missed Him. Salvation was right in front of them, but only in their heads, never in their will or soul. He was near their lips, but not their heart!

A Savior, Christ the Lord, was born on Christmas Day. The offer of salvation is just as valid now as it was then. He came to “seek and save that which is lost” [Luke 19.10]. So as we approach a New Year, let’s be mindful of our relationship with the Lord and Savior. Don’t settle for being close to Him in every way except your heart. The Apostle Paul said it well, “That I might KNOW Him!” [Philippians 3.10].

These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Matthew 15.8