HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW THE ONE YOU ARE FOLLOWING?

SCRIPTURE:
“When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, 
and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” 
(John 10:4)

MEDITATION:
Imagine if Jesus walked into your church this week. 
Would you recognize Him? 
When you were younger, you probably would have said, “Yes”, 
because you thought He would wear a flowing white robe and look 
just like a painting you had seen hanging in your church.

But today, as an adult, what do you think He would look like?
The chances are He would blend in with others in the church.
What would He wear? 
Some might guess Jesus would show up in a coat and tie.
 
Others would suppose He'd wear a polo shirt and khakis. 
However, He might show up in a t-shirt and jeans, 
depending on what others are wearing. 
He seemed to be quite comfortable in whatever crowd He was around.

The question is academic, because the Bible says it will be obvious 
when Jesus returns (read Jesus' own words in Matthew 24:23-27).
At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There 
he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear
and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
See, I have told you ahead of time. “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, 
out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’
do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even
in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:23-27)

However, it is still a good question, because it should create in us 
a desire to know Jesus so well that we would recognize Him 
no matter what He looked like, or what He wore.
If we are truly followers of Jesus, 
then we should want to know more about Him.
If we do not have that desire, 
then why would we believe we are His followers?

The Bible encourages us to strive to be more like Jesus.
If we don’t know Him, then how can we possibly become more like Him?
We need to understand His thoughts about certain things.
We need to understand His opinions and His values.
We need to understand how He reacts to certain circumstances.

We need to know the kind of relationship He has with the Heavenly Father.
We need to know why and how He prays to the Father.
We need to know how He feels about others – His love and compassion.
We need to know as much as we can about the One we follow.
Developing intimacy with Jesus takes practice and honesty, 
just like it does in any intimate relationship.
The more we know Him, the more He will reveal Himself to us.

Jesus warned the religious leaders 
that there are some who would lead people astray.
In contrast, Jesus, loved the people, and cared for them tenderly, 
as a shepherd cares for his sheep. 
In John 10, we see a close connection of knowing and trusting, 
between the shepherd and the sheep. 
All it took was a word - the sound of His voice and they knew it was Him.

ACTION:
If Jesus walked into the room and spoke while you were facing the other way,
would you need to turn around or would you recognize His voice?
Hopefully you would smile and say, “Hallelujah, Jesus is here!”

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word that tells me a lot about Your 
Son, Jesus. I pray that You would give me wisdom and discernment as I read 
the Bible so that I can understand more about Jesus. Teach me new ways of 
knowing Him better. Help me to develop His characteristics in my own life.”