1 John 2:4-5
[4] Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, [5] but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: (ESV)
"A man was being tailgated by a stressed out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten The red light by accelerating through the intersection.
The tailgating woman was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection, dropping her cell phone and makeup.
As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed, and placed in a holding cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.
He said, “I’m very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the ‘What Would Jesus Do’ bumper sticker, the ‘Choose Life’ license plate holder, the ‘Follow Me to Sunday-School’ bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, Naturally… I assumed you had stolen the car.”
The bumper stickers in this funny joke demonstrate that the driver of this car was essentially saying, "I know Him." But, her actions told a different story. The Apostle John tells us that the one who says they know Him, yet does not obey him, is not just confused or sending a bad message. He says, "They are liars."
As believers in Jesus Christ we need to be discerning. Not everyone who says that they know Christ actually do. This makes it very difficult for pastors and churches. We do not want to offend people. Yet, we also need to be careful that we do not hand the keys of leadership over to people who while claiming to know Christ, prove by their lifestyle that they are liars.
I hope you are not a liar. Do you claim to know Christ? How would others who observe you feel about your claim? Does your walk match your talk?
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