More Than Just a Story - the Book of Johnნიმუში

Have you ever lost someone in your life that you loved? Even years after they are gone you still think about them and even dream about them sometimes. You dream that the person you loved is somehow alive again, right in front of you. The feelings that you have in that moment, even in a dream, are indescribable and like nothing you have experienced before. But eventually you wake up and realize it was all just a dream.

The disciples find themselves in this very situation. Jesus is suddenly among them, in the flesh, after they all watched Him die and get buried. Close your eyes and imagine yourself in that room with them for a moment. Try to feel the emotions they were feeling, seeing their best friend and leader in the room with them again.

After the initial shock of this incredible experience subsides, Jesus distributes peace to his disciples: “...he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit…’” Just as God breathed into humanity the breath of life at creation, so Jesus here imparts the Holy Spirit unto his disciples. And this is the same Holy Spirit that dwells amongst us today. He not only gives us the Holy Spirit, but after he appears to the disciples a second time, he says, talking to Thomas, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

All people that have come to know and believe that Jesus Christ is who He says He is and that He did what he said He did without actually seeing him in the flesh “have not seen and yet have believed”, and therefore are blessed. That blessing has no end, so even today, thousands of years later, you and I are included in that blessing! And so is everyone else! It is our responsibility as Christians to continue distributing opportunities for others to receive this blessing. God has written a letter to all His people. Everything that anyone needs is in that letter, and He just asks us to deliver that letter to His people.

Who in my life can I share Jesus with today that has not yet experienced Him?

What obstacles are preventing me from sharing the good news of Jesus with others, and how can I overcome those obstacles?

How can I help empower other Christians to share the good news of Jesus with others?