Podcast version available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor!
Some things are hard to understand without experiencing them for yourself.
Have you ever been on the trip of a lifetime and taken in the most breathtaking scenery? Even trying to capture it with a camera doesn't do it justice. In the end, you throw up your arms and say,
"You really just have to experience it for yourself."
Or maybe as a foodie, your taste buds have finally basked in the glory of that long sought after pasta carbonara, tender filet mignon, flaky pastry, or full-bodied wine. You try to string together the most perfectly descriptive adjectives to explain the complexity of flavours - but in the end you throw up your arms and say,
"You really just have to experience it for yourself."
Whether it be...
travel
food
falling in love
or becoming a parent for the first time...
We've all lived through things that cannot be adequately described without being experienced firsthand.
No matter how hard we try to explain it, some things just have to be lived, not told.
Unfortunately, so many of us end up missing out on the FULL LIFE Jesus promises because we only go by whatever we've heard, and we stop there.
Perhaps all you know of Jesus is secondhand accounts of the experiences of others. So you're left trying to sort through what you actually believe.
Maybe you've been told,
"You really just have to experience Him for yourself."
In Luke 7, we read about how Jesus' ministry is really gaining traction. People are flocking to Him for healing and teaching, and He's causing quite a stir.
So much so, that John the Baptist, the last of the messengers from God to announce the coming Saviour, gets word of it while he's in prison. After trying to sort it all out for themselves, John and his followers don't know what to make of Jesus. Like most Jewish people at the time, they were expecting an overthrow of the Roman government and a messiah who would reestablish the throne of their ancestors.
Jesus didn't seem to show signs of any of this. So John sends his followers to ask Jesus directly,
Are you the Messiah we've been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?
- Luke 7:19
Jesus' response captures the heart of what I hope to get across here:
Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.
- Luke 7:22-23
Ok, notice what Jesus doesn't do.
Jesus does not:
- Debate with them about what the coming Messiah would look like
- Pull out His ancient scrolls to show them where they were misinterpreting the Scriptures
- Try to intellectually convince them to believe His words
- Scare them into following Him by pointing out their flaws, sins, or doubts
In fact, as I really sat with this passage, I realized that Jesus doesn't really say much at all. And He didn't seem overly concerned with what they would do with His response to their question either.
He basically says, The proof is in the pudding. Look around and see for yourself. People are experiencing God's transformative power. Lives are being changed. Draw your own conclusions.
For Jesus, it was never about using the right words to convince people to follow Him.
He knows we must experience Him in order to live the full lives He created us for.
So maybe you're already there mentally or intellectually, but something is still missing, and you've yet to encounter Jesus in a way that can only be experienced.
To you I say... get to know Jesus by finding out about yourself!
Here's what I mean: we were all created differently and therefore wired to connect with God differently. So experiencing Him is really about finding the ways that He created YOU to most easily and effortlessly find and connect with Him. It'll be a little different for everyone.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes a comparison between the good gifts we give to our children, and the good gifts God the Father lavishes on those who ask Him.
For some context, He isn't talking about material possessions or financial prosperity, but about a relationship! We know how to give good things to our children, even as broken and flawed people. So how much more does our Father in Heaven, through Jesus, One who is the full embodiment of grace, mercy, love, and compassion, want to give good gifts to us when we ask Him?
Friends, my point is this: He does not make it hard to find Him! Jeremiah 29:14 has the Lord literally saying, I will be found by you! So consider how this may be easiest for you, specifically.
When someone throws up their arms and says,
"You really just have to experience Him for yourself."
This is not an exhaustive list, but if you gravitate towards:
- Community
Matthew 18:20 tells us that when two are three are gathered together, God promises to be among them. So gather with others who are pursuing God and want to experience Him! To actually live Him, not just be told about Him. This could be a Bible study, or simply connecting with another who walks with Jesus and wants to experience Him too. - Creation
Romans 1:20 tells us that since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. This means that if you find yourself drawn to nature and sense His presence there - go do that! Experience God there! - Intellectual
Psalm 1:2 talks about taking literal DELIGHT in God's Word and meditating on it day and night. So if you experience God most easily through Bible study, podcasts, sermons, commentaries, and articles, then do that! I have no doubt He will reveal Himself to you as you continue to delight in Him there. - Music
Psalm 98 starts by telling us to sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done marvellous things, then goes on about using musical instruments to make music to the Lord. We are created as musical beings - certainly some more than others! But if that's how you experience God, then do that! - Prayer
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us to pray about everything. To tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Time in prayer can be a powerful way to experience God.
The Two Waters
There's a beautiful analogy that compares salvation to a tall glass of thirst-quenching water. When you come to faith in Jesus, your deepest hunger and thirst are satisfied in Him, just like a refreshing glass of water satisfies on a hot summer day.
But to really know God in a way that can only be experienced, is like sitting by the seashore and having a mighty wave wash over you, enveloping you and covering every last part of your being. It's life-altering, and can't be understood without being experienced. It has to be lived, not told.
What's in the Ears
The last few months have been pretty reflective for me in a melancholy way. This song is indicative of this and really beautiful. Enjoy it!
Have you experienced Jesus beyond your initial salvation as I've tried to describe here? Which of the ways listed do you gravitate towards most? Let me know in the comments or send me a message!
Podcast version available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor!
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