JESUS,
RELATIONSHIP WITH

JESUS has an impressive resume. Being born of a virgin and living a sinless life is impressive. We’ve all seen impressive resumes and we try to write impressive resumes. But any employer who’s ever hired anyone knows a great resume isn’t good enough. The resume is a start but it doesn’t tell the whole story. At a glance, the resume can show where someone went to school, how much job experience they have, and what skills they have. However, references can give another piece of the picture. They tell an employer what other people think of the applicant. An employer wants to know not only what’s on the resume but also what other people have to say. They want to check and see if what is on the resume is actually true. In addition to checking references, an employer will request an interview. This gives an opportunity for the employer and applicant to meet face-to-face.

Jesus has a great resume and there are plenty of people who can even testify and give Him a reference. However, the best kind of information comes from personally having an interview and being able to say that He’s everything He declares Himself to be based on experience. Having a personal relationship with Jesus is to know for oneself that He is real.516

[God, Knowing; Jesus]

John 1:14

I’M THE chaplain of the Dallas Mavericks. As a perk for being the chaplain, I get tickets to the games. Sometimes I have tickets left over and I invite people to go with me. Now, although the folks I invite could drive their own cars and meet me at the arena, I tell them that when they go to a Mavericks game, they should not go by themselves. They should go with me. When my guest goes with me, I’ll make it a much more convenient experience because I have privileges as the chaplain.

I’ll say, “Now, you don’t drive. You come ride with me. I have VIP parking in Parking Lot A. Parking Lot A is located twenty-five steps from the front door. I drive in and the attendant will say, ‘Hello, Dr. Evans, how are you?’ They will let you in not because of who you are but because of who I am. They don’t know you, but they know me, and because you’re with me, they’re going to let you hang with me in Parking Lot A.

“Then we’re going to get out of the car and we’re going to go through the front door. But we’re not going to go through the regular front door. We’re going to go through the VIP front door. That’s the Michael Jordan front door. That’s the Charles Barkley front door. That’s the Tony Evans front door. Guess what? If you’re with me, you get to go through that front door too. There’s a policeman at that front door whose job it is to not let you in until I tell him you’re with me. When he finds out we’re together, he’s going to give you the access that he gives me. Not because of who you are but because of who I am.

“And then there is a private elevator. The private elevator is a VIP elevator. You can’t get on that elevator except if you’re with me. If you’re with me, they’re going to give you the privilege of the elevator—not because of who you are, but because of who I am.

“When we get downstairs, if you haven’t eaten, don’t worry about it. They have a four-course meal available for VIPs. That four-course meal is free for me, and it’s also free for you because you’re with me. When you’re with me, you get what I get, not because of who you are, but because of who you’re with.

“When the National Anthem begins to play, we don’t have to go back upstairs and go through the line with all the people. We’re going to wait for the Mavericks to come out of their locker and we’re going to wait for them to go through the underground tunnel. You’re going to line up behind me, follow me down to the underground tunnel, and you’re going to get free access down through the private entrance—not because of who you are, but because of who I am.

“If you don’t like cheap seats, don’t worry about them. My seats are on the floor near the owner of the team. The most expensive seats of the house come at no cost to you, not because of who you are, but because of who I am. You get the best seats in the house because you are identified with me.

“When the game is over and everybody’s rushing to go home, I am not going the way everybody else is going. I’m going up that private ramp, through that private exit, to that private elevator, out that private door, to that private lot, to get in my car, and be halfway home before most people have gotten out of the parking lot. All of that will happen that day because you’re with me.”

Jesus Christ is saying to us, “You’re with Me, and if you hang with Me, you get all the rights and the privileges that come with your identification with Me.” We get the privileges of having a relationship with Jesus Christ when we are linked with Him. If we are linked with him, we will see power that we did not have, privileges that we do not own, strength that we did not possess—all because of our relationship with Him.517

[Christ, Union with; Power, Accessing]

John 14:6; Rom. 5:17