Does Jesus know you?

I’m a bit late in posting (like always), but this morning I can’t help thinking about Robin Williams. Partially that’s because stories about him are still cropping up in my news feed and the gist of most of them is still: Why? How could this have happened?

The simple answer is that even though Robin Williams was an American “household name,” we didn’t know him.

But didn’t he entertain us for over 30 years? Didn’t we invite him into our homes and hearts, every time we watched one of his tv shows or movies?

Of course we did, but we didn’t really know him and that’s why we’re bewildered.

The same can be said of Jesus. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus spoke about this kind of knowing. He said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Did you catch that? The people Jesus references are those who preached, drove out demons and performed miracles. He was familiar to them and they were serving in his name. Or so they thought.

But He did not know them and they were banished from the kingdom.

Our relationship with Jesus Christ is not passive – we can’t just invite him to sit politely in the living room of our life. We can’t just attend church on Sundays, clap our hands to the beat of the music and let Jesus entertain us.

We can’t prevent Him access to the other rooms of our hearts – especially the dark and dirty spaces. We’re called to be like children in our faith and do the will of His father in heaven. We’ve got to let his word pierce our hearts and allow the holy spirit to fill us.

When we do that and let him know us, we begin to know ourselves.