Bible Reading
1 John 1:1-4
Key Verse
1 John 1:3 (KJV)
“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
Reflection
Some years ago, while I was in the first year of my medical training, I went out to evangelise with my roommate. During the evangelism, a man asked me a deep question: “Why witness what you did not witness?” That question really stayed with me. And when I read the opening of John’s first letter, I see the answer in John’s own experience.
“We have heard.” “We have seen with our eyes.” “We have looked upon.” “Our hands have handled.” John is piling up sensory testimony because he wants to establish one truth: the eternal Word truly became physically present among us. He and the other apostles did not merely catch a glimpse of Jesus and form an opinion about Him. They lived with Him. They observed Him closely. John had years of exposure to Jesus and a sustained, intimate encounter with Him. Peter likewise testified that they had not followed cunningly devised fables.
The physical reality matters. Jesus was not merely a spiritual being or an abstract idea. God did not merely send information about Himself. God came near Himself. John calls Him “the Word of life,” bringing together God’s self-revelation and the life He gives to humanity. The apostles were not inviting people into a philosophy they had invented. Their proclamation rested upon a Person they had encountered in history.
But John tells us something even more wonderful. He did not proclaim Christ simply so that people would have correct information about Him. He says, “That ye also may have fellowship with us.” And then he tells us where that fellowship leads: “and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” The purpose is not merely that we know things about Christ, but that we enter into fellowship with Christ.
It is possible to become very familiar with Christianity and yet strangely distant from Christ Himself. We can know the stories, songs, doctrines and routines, hear sermon after sermon about Jesus, and read Scripture constantly, yet still relate to Him as though He were something abstract or Someone unreal. The Pharisees searched the Scriptures, yet missed the Christ to whom the Scriptures pointed. We can become familiar with everything around Christ while becoming less attentive to Christ Himself.
John’s testimony confronts that kind of Christianity. Jesus is not merely Someone to know about. He is Someone to know. And there is joy here. John says, “that your joy may be full.” John does not present this joy as something we manufacture. It is the fruit of fellowship with God. Circumstances may change, and we may grieve, struggle, wait and even feel spiritually dry. Yet beneath all of that is a deeper reality: I belong to God. I know God. I have fellowship with God.
The Christ John heard, saw, looked upon and handled is the Christ he now invites us to know and fellowship with. And through Him, we are invited into fellowship with the Father and the Son. This fellowship is not reserved for special moments. The presence of God can run like a golden thread through ordinary life, in our work, our studies, our conversations, our responsibilities and even our quiet moments. We can consciously remember Him, speak with Him, ask Him to direct us and walk through the day with an awareness that He is near.
Jesus cannot be reduced to an idea. He is a Person to know and fellowship with.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, keep me from becoming satisfied with knowing about You. I want to know You and faithfully testify of You. Draw me into deeper fellowship with You and make Your presence real to me in the ordinary moments of my life. Let the joy that comes from knowing You become deeper than my circumstances. Amen.
Today’s Challenge
Read 1 John 1:1-4 several times today, even with several Bible translations. Pay particular attention to the movement from what John and the apostles heard, saw, looked upon and handled to what they proclaimed, and then to fellowship and fullness of joy.
Sit with this question: Am I becoming more familiar with information about Jesus, or am I actually growing in fellowship with Jesus?
Do not just rush past the question. Read the passage again and let John’s testimony confront you personally. Then carry this simple reality into your day: the Jesus I read about is the Christ I have been invited to know.
Key Takeaway
You can know many things about Jesus and still miss the wonder of knowing Jesus Himself.
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