All last week Jesus was our theme. It was to be a reminder that it’s always all about Jesus. We are so easily sidetracked onto other things. We nod our heads that it’s all about Jesus but then suddenly we are talking about and debating theology or social issues, or doctrine, or politics — not that these are supposed to be off limits, but they become the dominant themes of our discussions on Christianity as if there was an official Christian position on any of these things. There is no Christian politic, or Christian social doctrine, or Christian theology that we are all supposed to agree on. There is no Christian agenda, and no Christian culture. No, practically speaking, there is just Jesus, and then there is all the rest.
In our online church we have been studying John’s first letter to the churches and last night, in 1 John 2:12-14 we explored three different levels of spiritual maturity. First are the children who know that their sins are forgiven. Then there are the young men who are strong because the word of God in them is giving them the power to overcome the evil one; and then there are the fathers, who know “Him who has been from the beginning.” When you think about this, you realize these are true for all of us, all the time, and each one is possible because of what Jesus has accomplished and is actively doing in us and for us.
First, our sins are forgiven because of Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection. Jesus is all over that. Then as “young men” we overcome because of the word of God in us through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, and that Holy Spirit only communicates to us what Jesus tells Him. The Holy Spirit is the means through which Christ lives in us, enabling us to overcome the evil one on a daily basis. And finally, the spiritual fathers are those who have walked with God and come to know Him intimately. And how does that happen? It’s Jesus again, because it is Jesus who reveals the Father to us. Otherwise, we would not know the Father. But Jesus said that “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” So as Jesus is revealed in the scriptures, so is the Father revealed. That’s why I believe that we all experience all three of these levels at the same time, because we all are constantly needing our sins to be forgiven, we are all needing the word of God in us to overcome the evil one, and we are all walking with God as Christ is manifested in our lives so that more and more, we are coming to know Him who has been from the beginning.
See … It’s all about Jesus.
John Fischer The Catch 
“It’s all about Jesus.” And Amen!
I think it’s wonderful that the world referred to the Jesus movement people of the late 60’s and early 70’s as “Jesus Freaks”. That term even appeared in an Elton John song during that time (and not in a derogatory manner!) The world could have just as easily said “religious freaks” or “church freaks” or “politically conservative freaks” or “puritanical moralistic freaks” or most likely “hypocritical judgmental freaks” They say all those things today without putting “freaks” at the end.
Instead the world got it right. Because Jesus people were emphasizing Him so much they could not miss that point and so Jesus freaks is what we were and what we embraced. We badly need more of that emphasis today. Thank you for pointing that out so well in today’s Catch. In 1972 it was said that when Jesus freaks are in the street, “the boulevard is not that bad”. OK so that’s not the best compliment ever but it’s way better than how people view Christians today. Let’s represent Jesus 1st and all the rest 2nd.
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