Rev. Ray and Pat Amos

“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,” John 10:14

I was attending a high school football game when a man came up to me, shook my hand like we were lifelong friends, and told me that he wanted to introduce me to someone. We went to the bleachers (that were crowded) and stepped over people as we made our way to whoever it was I was to meet. (You know what we think about people who do that when we are trying to watch a game.) We finally got there, and with a proud voice (like I was a real important person) he said, “I want you to meet Rev. _____ (That is when he named another pastor.) He thought I was someone else. He was embarrassed; I smiled, and then crawled back across the bleachers.

The man thought he knew me, but he didn’t. At the end of the day that doesn’t really matter.

I have a retired minister friend who once (before he became a pastor) served as a Lay-speaker. He was very gifted and was often called on to speak at churches. Later he said that he had gotten to know many people, but he really did not know the One that he was speaking about.

They were at a Lay-Witness Mission when someone asked him about his relationship with the Lord. He had learned to play “dodge ball” around the question, “Are you a Christian?” On that day he was asked a simple question that required a yes or no: “Do you know my Jesus?”

How will you answer the question when Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” At the end of the day it matters greatly.

This gospel song comes to mind, “Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my friend? Have you heard he loves you, and that he will abide till the end?”
Grace and Peace, Rev Ray