Do You Know?

Tracey Bowen
John 12:44-50
44Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.45When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47″As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

The world is filled with uncertainty. Will I have a job tomorrow? Will my children grow up to be productive citizens? Will I live to see another birthday? The list goes on and on. Attempting to find certainty in the uncertainty of this world is a one way ticket to a nervous breakdown. I submit there is a better way. The certainty of God.
Jesus came to Earth at the command and will of the Father. He knew his purpose was to do whatever the Father told him to do and he was okay with that. In verse 49 of today’s passage he stated plainly, “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it.” This is one speaking from place of total submission, willing to do only what he was told to do. However, the activating power of his submission comes in verse 50. “And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say. This statement speaks of his unmovable faith. Faith that is confident and assured. Faith that is certain.
Can you say that you know, not believe but know, that God’s commands lead to eternal life? Can you say and act on His word with enough confidence to do what He says and tell others to do the same? We say we believe but do we know that God’s way leads to eternal life? Is it evidenced in our lives? As we follow hard after the heart of God during this season, let us stop and ask God to give us a “knowing” experience with him that will allow us to say, with conviction that we know his words lead to eternal life, and then with joy tell the world whatever the Father tells us to say.

Tracey Bowen
Bethel Apostolic Temple
Miami, Florida