To begin I wish to make it abundantly clear that I am not trying to pick on any person or institution. The example I use is merely to illustrate a point.

I know a teenager that recently sat in on a sermon with the topic of whether or not they only know about Jesus or have a relationship with him. Intrigued that this topic had actually been tackled I asked what had been taught about how to know Jesus. Sadly, I was told, “I don’t think we were taught how to know Jesus.” I inquired as to what that meant. I was simply told that all they had done was post several verses on the big projector screen about Jesus and made a few comments about them.

It is possible that this teen was distracted and missed something. However, I was pleased that they realized there had to be something more to getting to know God than reading a few Bible verses. In an effort to keep the thought process moving I asked how this fell short of explaining how to have a relationship with Jesus. The reply was, “Well, just reading a book doesn’t do it. I can read a book about Abraham Lincoln and not really know him or have a relationship with him.”

We talked a little about how to have a relationship with Jesus. We discussed that the Bible was defintely an important part of that, but that there is more to it. Not that I am an expert. I’m still learning. I think I always will be.  As for this teen, they too are still learning.  I thank God for that.