You’ll Know

ALL – Psalm 29:1-11
ALL – Proverbs 7:6-23
OT – Exodus 21:22-23:13
NT – Matthew 24:1-28

When people ask how they’ll know they’re marrying the right person, what to look for, all those things, the common response these days is simply, “You’ll know.” You’ll know you’re in love. You’ll know (s)he’s a match. You’ll know you want to be together forever. You’ll know. You’ll just have that feeling, you know?

It’s amazing how many people believe that they can pick a spouse out of a hat based on their feelings. Thousands of potential husbands and wives are out there, and rather than counseling young folks to choose spouses with character qualities they will appreciate for a lifetime, we tell them to choose a spouse that makes them “feel” good—whatever that means.

We kind of do the same thing with religion. We tell people they’ll know when they’re on the right path, but rather than giving them anything substantial to base their knowing on, we let them choose what feels best to them (not all of us, but in general, that’s what even our evangelical Christian culture does – just look at what’s offered in the Christian bookstores!). You enjoy Joel Osteen? Great! T. D. Jakes? Great! The Shack? Great! Whatever you like, whatever makes you feel like you’re following God, go for it! If you feel like you’re on the right path, then you must be!

How stupid can we be?

Jesus Christ is a real person. The true God. And there’s only one of Him. There’s only one Bible, only one Spirit, only one Father, only one Way, one Truth, one Life. Not everyone who claims to be a Christian is actually pointing people to Jesus. So it’s ridiculous that we tell people to find Jesus in their own way. What feels right may be totally wrong. We can’t afford to be wrong. We need Jesus.

As Jesus’ return draws near, this feeling-based approach to encountering Him is setting people up for a big disappointment. We tend to drift wherever the most feelings are, wherever rumors tell us that Jesus is being experienced the most deeply. Jesus warns that people will do that very thing when they think He’s come back:

So if someone tells you the Messiah has returned and is out in the desert, don’t bother to go and look. Or, that he is hiding at a certain place, don’t believe it! For as the lightning flashes across the sky from east to west, so shall my coming be, when I, the Messiah, return. And wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather. – Matthew 24:26-28, The Living Bible

Don’t just go where people feel like they’re experiencing Jesus. What they’ve really found is a carcass, and they’re gathering like vultures. Go to Jesus’ Word, to Jesus’ Spirit, to Jesus’ cross, to Jesus’ Father. The real Jesus isn’t a matter of feelings, but of reality. And when He comes again, His real coming will be really obvious. You’ll know He’s here… and it won’t be based in feelings. He’ll just be that obvious.

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.