Denial

“And I (Jesus) assure you of this: If anyone acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I, the Son of Man, will openly acknowledge that person in the presence of God's angels. But if anyone denies me here on earth, I will deny that person before God's angels." 
Luke 12:8-9

"Nope, it wasn't me. ... Me either!" Nobody ever seems to know. Dents, scratches, and scuffs just appear out of thin air and cover all of our vehicles. It's truly amazing. One of the many wonders of the world I'm sure. I have a sneaking suspicion that the car gremlins have probably shown up in your garage as well. Denial seems to be the order of the day. No indisputable video evidence? Well, it sure wasn't me...

In our verses for today, Jesus spoke to the issue of denial. The specific focus was acknowledgement. According to Webster's dictionary, "To give evidence of recognizing." I like that. A person who gives evidence of recognizing Jesus here on earth, he will give evidence of recognizing them in heaven. Conversely, if there is no evidence of recognizing Jesus now, he will give no evidence of recognizing them later.

Undoubtedly, there is a verbal component to Jesus' warning, but there's more to it than that. Evidence is needed, indisputable evidence. Do we in word, thought and deed acknowledge Jesus? A Christ follower shouldn't have to try to convince people that they are one, the evidence should be overwhelming. 

Grace and Peace,
 
Tom Wiles
tom@fallcreekchristian.org

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