HE GETS US . . . BUT DO WE GET HIM?

If you’ve been watching tv lately, you’ve probably seen some ads showing a variety of people in different situations with the tagline “He gets us.” The intent of the ads focuses on the love of Jesus and uniting in Him. And there is no doubt that Jesus loves us, because He gave His life on that cruel cross for our sins (1 Peter 2:24); and that He desires us to be united in Him (John 17:21). But do we “get Him” in understanding His love and unity. Let’s consider a few things.

Christ has expectations of those who follow Him. To reciprocate the love He shows to us, we are to keep His commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23). In so doing, we are being transformed from an old life of sin into the holy people the Lord desires us to be (Romans 12:2; 1 Peter 1:14-15). Remember, Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to “go and sin no more” (John 8:11). And to the man whom Jesus healed at the pool of Bethesda, He told Him “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (John 5:14). We “get” Jesus when we listen to Him and do what He says (Matthew 7:21).

In like fashion, Christ expects His followers to be united, yet it must be according to His gospel (Mark 16:15; Galatians 1:6-12). And that gospel teaches us “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), explaining that unity is based on “one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (vs. 4-6). As Paul later states in the chapter, “till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (vs. 13).

There is no doubt that Jesus gets us because He knows us inside out (Luke 9:47; 1 Corinthians 3:20) and has experienced everything we have, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5). May we be sure that we get Him and do what He instructs us to do, lest we be deceived (James 1:22).