February, 2016

    Recently, I’ve been meditating on this very important truth: that we were created in Christ to know God intimately. My aim this year is to help you and your family see the importance of knowing God, the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. As I write each article of the Chariot of Fire, I will present a lesson with a demonstration or exercise you can easily share with your family which will help you grow in your knowledge of God.

    This growth is important because of what Jesus said in His prayer to His Father: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). Paul told the Colossians and the Ephesians that he always prayed that they would be filled with the knowledge of God so they could live in a manner worthy of the Lord. 

When you know a person’s likes and dislikes, preferences, motivations, and how they would answer a host of questions, you usually think you know them well. How well do you know God? Do you know Him like you know your wife, husband, child, or a close friend?

 

Knowing God, The Father

Read the following Scriptures to your family.

 

   Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.”

   Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”     

  Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:6-9).

 

Ask the following question and then compile a list of answers: What can we learn about the Father and the Son from this passage of Scripture? (Here are some possible answers. Perhaps you will add more).

 

 

About God, the Father                                     About Jesus, the Son

The Father can be known.                               The Son can be known.

There’s only one way to the Father.                  Jesus is the way to the Father.

To know the Father you must know Jesus.        Jesus is the truth about the Father.

                                                                            Jesus is the life of the Father.

                                                                            Jesus revealed the Father.

 

Demonstration

    Ask one of your children to plot a very creative course from where you are to the refrigerator and back to the family gathering. (They can do this either mentally or physically as the rest of the family goes into another part of the house so they can’t tell where the child is going. If they are young, they may need you to watch them so you can help them remember the path they create.) Tell the family there is only one acceptable path to and from the fridge, and the child who selected that path will let them know if they have discovered it. Each person gets two attempts. If no one takes the selected path, then have the child act out various ideas of being “the way” for another member of the family to get to the refrigerator and back. For instance, one might carry another person as a means of transportation. Or the child might take the hand of another and lead or direct them. A third option might be for the child to simply give instructions, one step at a time. 

    After the demonstration, lead a discussion about what Jesus could have meant when He told His disciples that He was “the way” to the Father. Do you think He meant that He was the way to the place where the Father dwells? Perhaps He meant for them to understand that the Father was the same in character, behavior, likes, dislikes, values, motivations, etc., as Jesus was. As you continue reading in John 14, discover more ways you can know God, the Father, by knowing His Son, Jesus Christ.

    Most importantly, we know that through Jesus Christ, we have our peace and access to the Father. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For through Him we both [Jews and Gentiles] have our access in one Spirit to the Father” (Eph. 2:18). Jesus is the way or our access to the Father.

    Teach your children that it is important as they read the Scriptures to understand that the purpose of reading, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture is to know God. Jesus is the living Word of God, the revelation of God, Himself. I don’t think we can emphasize enough that this is our purpose in everything that we do or encounter in life, namely, to know the Father and the Son. 

 

Application

    If we believe that Jesus is the way to the Father, then we should apply that truth to the way we live our lives. When things happen, learn to practice asking, “What did Jesus do in situations like this?” Then ask Him for His help to respond in the same way, for the pleasure of the Father. Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is so important in applying the truths He teaches us. He has been given to us as our Helper. 

    Since Jesus has made a way for us to go to God through His blood, we have confident access to Him. This means we can pray, ask for help, and seek His wisdom without fear. We know that our way to the Father has been opened and secured so that nothing can separate us from Him. 

    Can you and your family think of other ways you can apply the truth that Jesus is the way to the Father? I hope you’ll be encouraged as you think about and apply this wonderful truth in your own life and with your family.