There is a world of difference between knowing about something and actually knowing something. One is a head thing, knowledge. The other is a heart thing, experience.
Gathering cold, intellectual facts about someone doesn't compare with the life experiences we go through first-hand with that person.
I thought about this the other day when I saw some of those big blow-up figures people buy and place in their yards for the holidays. As long as the fans are plugged in to fill them with air, the figures are antimated, bigger than life, showy and fun.
The minute the fan is turned off, they sag to the ground, flat and are a jumble of cold, lifeless plastic bags.
As I looked at those deflated balloons, I wondered if that's the kind of Christian I am. Having attended the same church for more than 40 years, it's easy to be on auto-pilot with the routine of it. I know the service outline by heart, and I can sing most of the hymns without looking at the words.
Getting ready for Christmas, putting out the decorations, and buying gifts, I wonder if I'm doing the same thing with this Advent season. Am I like those blow-ups, just bopping around because the air of holiday pressure is keeping me puffed up.
Moving from knowing about Jesus, into a lifestyle with Him takes a bit of responsibility on my end. It is so easy to forget Him in the bustle of my days. One of my ongoing issues with myself and my faith is that I'm easily distracted.
Looking at these days before Christmas, I want to have His fresh air blown into my weak and cracked vessel of a body that is more physical than spiritual.
As time goes by, I'm learning that juggling the contradiction of knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus needs the regular fan of time-out. Time for prayer, scripture study, thinking and listening to Him. He is my life support if I stay linked to Him, and watch out for those obstacles to faith that are distractions.
It's not easy being Christian. I think somewhere in the back of my mind I thought it would be, that if I just did my part of the routine, (which, I thought was mostly going to church) I'd have that life I'd read about.
It's taken a while, but I'm finally learning that the Bible is the place to look for the "fresh air" faith that Jesus will be there to help in the storms in life: "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17.
The Bible is the bridge by which we can go from knowing about Jesus, to actually knowing Him. The kicker is that it's up to us to either leave it on the shelf, or use it for our daily fresh air.
