What This Man Knows

1 John 2:28- 3: 3
19 June 2011 (Fathers’ Day)

What do men know? Well, according to a retired minister’s granddaughter, they don’t know much. He recalled recently a conversation that took place between the two of them.

“Mom has been telling me about how babies are born and I’m never going to have children,” she said. “It hurts too badly.”

Thinking about what the best thing to say would be, the retired minister replied, “Yes, it does hurt. But the pain goes away and you’re left with this beautiful child and you decided it was worth it.”

The girl looked her grandfather in the eye. “You’re a man. What do you know?”
Indeed what do men know?

This man standing here may not know that much either, but there are a few things he knows and he’d like you to know them too. He knows who he is, whose he is, what he is here for and where he is going.

Before I tell you more about these things I know, I’d like to tell you why I know them. I know them because not only have I heard them said, but also because I have read about them in the Bible. And I know them not just because I have read them in the Bible but because deep in my heart, I have experienced them to be true.
Let me give you a sample of what I have read about this. I’ll read to you from John’s first letter.

“And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives.
Once you’re convinced that he is right and righteous, you’ll recognise that all who practice righteousness are God’s children.

What marvellous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it – we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognise us or takes us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to. But friends, that’s exactly who we are: children of God. And that’s only the beginning. Who knows how we’ll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we’ll see him -- and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus’ life as a model for our own (1 John 2: 28- 3:3 The Message).”

In God, I have discovered who I am. I am His child. This means He made me and knows me even better than I know myself. That’s why I can confide in Him. I can tell Him even my deepest secret and He listens. And so often, either through other people or events that take place in my life, He directs me in the right path. And when I am unsure of how to proceed, I go to the Bible because I believe that it is like a letter He wrote to me so I would know what to base my decisions on and how to ground my values and life in something truly meaningful.

Without a relationship with God and without relying on Him I am more like a cork floating in water. How do I know what is right and wrong? How do I know what really matters in life? I really do need God’s input because He is my Father, my creator. He is worth listening to. After all if He made me and the world, who is better placed than Him to help me figure out how life should be lived? Not only that, but because I know that I belong to God, I know that I am accountable to Him. And He tells me that I am accountable to others as well. That means that what I say and what I do affects not only God but it affect other people too.

Human beings are made for relationships. We relate with our parents. We relate to our children. We relate with our brothers and sisters. We relate with our friends. We relate with our co-workers, our teachers and the list goes on. Unless we understand how we are meant to relate, we are bound to hurt each other and misunderstand one another. God gives us the perfect example of what a good and wholesome relationship is all about in Jesus. Through what He taught and what He did, He showed us what it means to truly love and care for others. He taught us that life is not primarily about ourselves and what we can get out of it but it is about others and what we can give to others.

When we know that we belong to God, then we realise that our purpose in life is to live for the good of others – not our own good. That is what Jesus did when He came to earth. Everything He said, everything He did was for our good and the good of those who lived in His day. Even his death was for our good.

The Bible talks about sin and how sin destroys our relationship – with God and with each other. I don’t know if you have ever hurt another person or if another person has hurt you – not necessarily physically but emotionally too. I know have hurt others and been hurt. One of the first things we often say or hear when that happens is: “I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you?” Or we hear or say: “I’m sorry; I promise I’ll never do it again.” When we say those words, of course we mean them. But nothing we can do can undo the harm that was done. And when we promise never to do it again, sure enough, we do it again and our apologies start losing weight.

When we hear those words, we say to ourselves, “Sure you’re sorry but if you were really sorry you would put more effort into not hurting me.” We say to ourselves, “Sure you want to make it up to me, just don’t do it again.” And we keep on hurting each other.

God knows we keep on hurting Him by the way we treat each other, let alone how we treat Him. He knows there is nothing we can do on our own to make things better. I’m sure you know what happens when someone is convicted of a crime. They are punished. What do we do when someone does something wrong to us? We pay them back one way or another.

Well God says that is not really effective. That’s not how we are meant to live, being hurt and hurting back. Because a crime deserves punishment, God himself took the punishment in Jesus. He died – he was executed for all the wrong doings we may have and ever will do. And then God says:”There, the punishment is done. I now forgive you. Go and learn to do likewise. Forgive other people. Love then and care for them as freely as I love and care for you.”

That’s what I know life to be. It’s tough. It’s inconvenient. It’s humbling. But it is also freeing. I don’t have to carry a heavy baggage with me all the time because I know I am forgiven and with God’s help I can learn to forgive others.

As I learn to live this way, I know that if God were to come to earth today, I wouldn’t have to worry and wouldn’t have to be afraid. I’m not perfect but because I am His child, because I know I belong to Him and because I follow Jesus and seek to live the way He taught me and showed me to live, I am good.

Because I am good – not because of my actions but because I belong to God – then I don’t have to worry about my future. My future is in His hands. And I am not just talking about tomorrow. I am talking about eternity too. That removes a whole layer of anxiety in me. No matter what happens, whatever I may face in the future, I know that I will not face it alone. God will be with me. I will be with God. My soul is in good hands.

It’s true that I may not know much – after all I am a man! But these things I know. I am God’s child, belonging to Him, made for Him in such a way that I can love, forgive and care for others, seeking the good of others instead of just what is good for me. And because I know who I am, whose I am and what I am here for, I know where I am going. I am going to be with God today, tomorrow and for eternity.
Your Father in heaven wants you to know all that – And He has even more things to tell you about. Would you commit to know Him as He knows you? You couldn’t give Him a better Fathers’ Day present!