Wednesday, October 28
In John 14:1-6, Jesus comforts His confused, anxious, soon-to-be-grieving friends by offering them a place (Heaven), a promise (I’m coming back), and a person (Himself). Those are comforting words for all of us in uncertain times. But I believe there are three kinds of people today who especially need to pay heed to these words. It’s our job as their friends to bring them the message.
First is what I would call the Friendly Unbeliever. That’s a person who admires Jesus, but doesn’t accept Him as divine. Most of the non-religious people I’ve known in my life have fallen into this category. They say, “I’m not a Christian, but I sure do like Jesus. He’s one of the greatest people who has ever lived. If we all could agree to live according to His teachings, this would be a better place.” Some Friendly Unbelievers are actually members of other religions. They’re Muslims or Jews who see Jesus as a great prophet or a truly righteous man, but don’t believe He was anything more than that. But the biggest category of friendly unbelievers I know are people who grew up in church and still consider themselves Christian, but don’t really have any connection to God. Jesus to them is a sentimental figure who was kind and helped people. But He makes no difference in their lives in the present day.
Thomas would fit into this category, too. Yes, he was a disciple of Jesus, but at this point, he hadn’t decided Jesus was divine. He knew Jesus was like no other person he’d ever seen or heard of, and he hoped Jesus was the Messiah. But he wasn’t ready to worship Him yet. I love Thomas. He’s gotten a bad rap from people over the years, known as “Doubting Thomas,” but in reality, I think he was just practical. You see it right here. Jesus tells them, “Boys, I’m going away for a while, but don’t worry, you know the way.” And only Thomas is bold enough to say, “Um, no we don’t. If you gave us directions, I must have forgotten to write them down. Can you tell us about this ‘way’ again?”
The other disciples were friendly unbelievers too. Right after this, Philip says, “Lord, show us the Father, and it will be enough for us.” Jesus responds, “How can you ask me that after all the time we’ve been together? Don’t you know that if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father?”
Jesus isn’t interested in our admiration. He doesn’t want fans. He wants family members. He doesn’t want groupies. He wants followers. In his classic work, Mere Christianity, CS Lewis wrote, “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”
Friendly unbelievers are uncomfortable with John 14:6, because they don’t want to have to make a decision about Jesus. But that’s exactly what He demands. Jesus says, “Either kill me or crown me. But either way, you have to choose.”
“Lord, I pray for the friendly unbelievers in my own circle. In fact, here are their names: ___________. Please open their eyes to the truth of who you are, which is so much more wonderful than they think. Use me to communicate that truth in love and wisdom, in your name, amen.”
Senior Pastor
First Baptist Conroe
More from Pastor Jeff at his website: jeffbergerwriting.com
