What Do You Mean by "A Relationship With Jesus?" - People`s Experience With Jesus
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What Do You Mean by "A Relationship With Jesus?"

It means having an encounter with Jesus. In other words, it can be described as having personal association or connection with Jesus and accepting him as one's personal saviour.

Computer Analyst, 42, Nigeria

A relationship with Jesus is sort of like having a best friend that you can call anytime. This friend you have will never leave you or forsake you. He doesn't answer directly the way a human friend would with a phone call or an e-mail.Although sometimes he might let you wait for days or years before you can get an answer, but he has been listening and watching all along. He knows you better than you know yourself because he is the one that made you.

Student, 21, United States

Having a relationship with Jesus is so amazing. You get up in the morning and you know that you're not alone. The big thing for me is to try to involve him in everything I do. It can be a lonely place being on the road, living out of a suitcase--but when you've got "The Best" with you, you can handle anything! As I wrote in one of my songs, there's such great hope out there, there's a banner of hope when you come to know Jesus and begin to follow his word, when God becomes your God and gently calls you into a new way.

Celtic Music Artist, Ireland

I consider Jesus my best friend, so I interact with him as if he were by my side. He's a pretty quiet friend, so I need to listen hard. I usually do most of the talking even though he's the one offering the wisdom and comfort.

General Manager, 40, United States

Just like with any relationship, communication is the key. I speak to him through prayer, and he speaks to me through his written teachings. I find that regular interaction with Jesus in this way leads me to know him better.

Architect, 39, Germany

This is something that is very deep and demands serious thought. Too often we are so involved with the everyday events that we may never have a personal relationship with Jesus. This only comes through deep soul searching.

Fleet Manager, 46, United States

I have a strong relationship with Jesus. I learned about Jesus at age 14 from a friend in prep school. Jesus is the first thing in my life--he is my life, my happiness, my existence. I make his way is my way, my love, everything in my life.

Female, 29, Egypt

The thought of having a relationship with Jesus brings to mind such things as love, care, concern, intimate exchange, support, and unfailing and never-ending commitment to another who likewise endeavors to do the same. In order to have a relationship with anyone, they first have to be a real person and they also need to be a person with whom one can relate (a person who can empathize, understand, and participate in life and all of life's joys and sorrows as well as life's triumphs, trials, and tragedies). To "have a relationship with a person" also presumes that such a person with whom one is in relationship is alive and not dead; otherwise, it would have to be said that one "had (past tense) a relationship with someone" or perhaps there was no relationship at all. Therefore, in saying that I "have (present tense) a relationship with Jesus," I am communicating that I understand and believe him to be a real and living person. I am also communicating that I understand him to be a person who likewise desires to have a relationship with me even more than I ever could desire to have a relationship with him. He is one who completely understands me and one who is with me daily. Perhaps the best thing that could be said about my understanding of "having a relationship with Jesus" is that although my commitment to him may at times waver, his commitment to me is unchanging and unfailing. To have a relationship with Jesus is something that continues and in fact is enriched even beyond the grave. It is a relationship that is eternal and therefore, infinitely fulfilling.

Intern, 32, United States

My relationship with Jesus is the best thing that I ever had. He is somebody I can talk with during the whole day and about all kinds of things. He is the friend in whom you can always trust, and that makes me feel fortunate and safe.

Student, 25, Spain

It means that you believe in Jesus, you trust your life with him, you live your life for him, and you love him above all else. Though Jesus is not physically here with you face-to-face, you can still have a pretty intimate relationship with him. You speak to him through prayer, through your actions and your speech (whether or not you do and say all things for Jesus), through your thoughts. He speaks to you mainly through his holy word, the Bible as well as through every day life. Be careful with the every day thing, though. A lot of times we may misinterpret what God may be trying to teach us. This is why I ask God to give me discernment with what he's trying to teach me.

Student, 20, United States


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1 entries for this category:

Jesus as our Shepherd
[O]ne of the things that we learned from Jesus is to be open to the possibility that God really will speak to you. It`s a little mysterious, I know, and there`s a lot I don`t understand about it, but Jesus talked a lot about being the Good Shepherd, and this is part of what He says...:
  • The shepherd calls his sheep by name and leads them out. He goes on ahead of him and his sheep follow him, because they know his voice. ''John 10: 3-4''

    This is a wonderful picture of what Jesus wants to do in the lives of His followers. In the ancient world, sheep would get to know the one who was their shepherd. Sometimes the shepherd would sing a song to them that would be their signature song. Sometimes, he would carry a little flute and play a tune over and over until the sheep would know what it was. This is still practiced today. Gary Burge writes about it.

  • In the 1980`s, the Israeli government was in conflict with a Palestinian village near Bethlehem over taxation. The officer in command rounded up all of the village animals Page 5 because of this conflict and put them all together in a common pen. Later on, a woman approached them and explained that she was a widow, and that these animals were her only means not to starve. They were her only livelihood and she desperately needed them. He said, a little cynically, that there would be no way to locate her sheep, because there was no way he could find the animals that were hers.

    She asked,

  • If I could separate them out, could I keep them?

    He answered,

  • Sure. You could do that.

    Her son was the one who usually watched the sheep. He would have been the "undershepherd" who served the owner. This was common in ancient times also. Her son pulled out a little reed flute and played a simple tune over and over and over. In the pen where all the animals were, there was a group of sheep whose heads started popping up. Hey, that`s our song! And twenty-five sheep recognized that song, walked out of that pen, and followed the shepherd.

    Jesus said,

  • My sheep know my voice. ''John 10:27''

    You can`t fool the sheep. They know their shepherd. Jesus said that this kind of thing actually happened in His own relationship with the Father, because He lived in such a sense of dependence on God. And here`s the thing: As normal and ordinary and broken and simple and inadequate as you and I are, this same thing happens for us through the Scriptures through being alone. I really do believe it.



    By: John Ortberg
    Category: People`s Experience With Jesus - What Do You Mean by "A Relationship With Jesus?"
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