Have You Been to Jesus?

By Ron Thomas

    In Acts 4, we read of the account of two men standing before the religious leaders of the day, an occasion that was not taken lightly by any that were involved when such a thing like this occurred. The religious leaders not only had moral force, but they could apply a heavy dose of peer pressure, even criminal indictment when the situation demanded it. Acts 4, from their perspective, was such an occasion. 
    There was some murmuring going on amongst the people, and when they learned about it, those in charge arrested those guilty of causing this disturbance (that is, Peter and John). The disturbance was only in relation to the healing of a man lame since his birth, but the troubling aspect of this disturbance was in direct relation to Jesus, God’s anointed (chosen) one, one who was actually rejected by many of the Jewish people. Rejected as he was, they killed an innocent man. 
    Still fresh on their minds, the man Jesus and that which He taught, they resolved: “This has to stop!” 
    After having been arrested, the Lord’s servants were standing before those in judicial authority, being called to give an account of what they did and why. Peter and John stood tall. They gave a direct answer, and then a pertinent application for them (those in authority and the whole community): the authority by which they operated was the same authority they rejected and killed. One day they were going to stand before Him and be judged. This was impressive and insulting to those making inquiry (Acts 4:13). 
    “And they recognized they had been with Jesus.” 
    Do people recognize this about you? Do they recognize this by the clothes you wear, the words you use, the entertainment you enjoy?  
    Or is it, they hear that you “go to church,” but they see the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, the form of entertainment you enjoy, the books you read, and then conclude you are a better talker than a doer?  
    I suppose the first point to consider is this: what does it mean to be with Jesus? It means to be “blood bought,” that is, to be a Christian. One who loves the Lord does not love the Lord in name, but in life. The Christian will meet with the saints “when the doors are open.” The one who loves the Lord will spend regular occasions during the day in prayer. The one who has been with Jesus will hear from Him daily as the Scriptures are read in devotion and study. 
    The one who is with Jesus will ALWAYS think to himself “what would Jesus do?” The quaint saying has a powerful message. 
    Have you been to Jesus?

- Ron Thomas preacher for the Sunrush Church of Christ, Chillicothe, OH. He may be contacted through the congregation's website http://sunrushchurchofchrist.com