I used to wish I could have been alive and in Israel when Jesus walked on the earth. I imagined that I could have seen and heard Jesus’ miracles and heard His teachings, I would have been a volunteer apprentice even if He would not have picked me as one of the twelve. Now I can see knowledge of Him would not necessarily have meant I would have believed in Him. Thousands saw and heard Jesus yet did not fully believe or trust Him. I suspect I may have been one who walked away when He said, “unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood you have no life in you”. (John 6:54-56) The point is, greater knowledge of God does not equal faith in Him. It can enhance your relationship with Him but can also veil your mind and heart and thereby keep you from a more complete truth.
The grave danger of knowledge, as is the case with giving, serving, or soul winning, is that deeds can become our goal rather than being intimate with our God. Jesus called the twelve to be WITH HIM first and foremost. Notice the sequence in Jesus’ words. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned (John 15:4-6, ESV) Jesus is saying to them make your home in me, as I make my home in you. To be an apprentice of Jesus is to so abide in Him that you become like Him and subsequently live as He lived. This with-ness to Jesus is the baseline of a believer’s entire life.
Brother Lawrence was a dishwasher in a monastery in the 17th century who passionately loved God. He wrote a very small book called Practicing the Presence of God. He made it his life’s ambition to experience God in the midst of the chaos of the kitchen, with all its noise, distractions, and busyness—sounds like life today! He came to the place that busyness was no different from prayer time or taking communion. The point is that his holiest times were not doing spiritual practices, but constantly communicating with God in the midst of his chaos. The fruit of that transformed him into Jesus’ likeness.
How serious are you about being an apprentice of Jesus—one who will do whatever it takes for the Spirit to form Christlikeness into the fiber of their being? Two self-examination indicators: 1) In what ways have I been learning experiential knowledge of Him by making my daily home with Him and He with me? Keep in mind, we become more loving by experiencing love, not by hearing about it in a lecture or reading about it in a book. And 2) In what unique ways have my experiences in His presence been literally changing me to love and respond to people more as He did?
Be very careful not to confuse head knowledge, tradition, or behavior with faith in Him.