The idea is becoming more clear to me that it’s entirely possible to have a relationship with Jesus without actually following him or choosing to be formed by that relationship.
I’m sure there are plenty of people who have relationship with Jesus in the same way I have relationship with my postal worker – a courteous greeting when he makes his rounds, maybe some awkward small talk around the holidays. Jesus asked his disciples, “who do people say that I am?” My homeboy, my intolerant religion’s bearded mascot, the ready defense and justification of the theology of your choosing… but the next question he asked them is really the most pressing question for anybody who claims to have a relationship with Jesus. “Who do you say that I am?” Who is He to me? How does my relationship with Him filter all my other relationships, if it does at all? How does Jesus become the connective tissue between me and, literally, everything else? Is it an extreme suggestion, that Jesus is inviting that kind of radical devotion? What does that look like? The answer to that question, “who is Jesus to me,” even more than “do you know him?” has got to be the most pressing question facing humanity, especially those of us who call ourselves Christian.
