How Do We Know… Hello Hump Day readers. We’ve made it through the 4th of July, and the next week, and now we are excited to have two weeks off! It’s like taking a deep breath and diving into “time for Al and Cyndy!” The holiday was a bit crazy but folks had a great time on the water, except for one young man who asked to talk to a chaplain, and that’s me so I welcomed him for a conversation. He was from South Dakota and taking a few weeks to enjoy New Mexico and then off to Colorado. Before I could say anything he blurted out: “How can we know who Jesus really is when we have never seen him?” Well, that caught me by surprise. I shared with him the fact that Jesus reveals God his father, and we know of his miracles and the things he reveals to us each day. Then I told him about a funny story related to his question. It came from a Swedish pastor I knew in Minnesota! Here goes…

In the early 1600s when the 30-Years War in Europe was going on, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden was killed in battle. They mourned for their king-he was very beloved. But, now the government officials had to determine how to move forward because the king’s only child, Christina, was 6 years old, too young to be a queen. Now what will happen? Most of the people had never even seen her, but the chancellor of Sweden did, so he brought her in and sat her on the throne and surprisingly, she was calm and collected. Then the officials moved in for a closer look and one spoke to the assembly shouting “Look at her nose, eyes, and her chin—just like her father. Can you not see in the countenance of this child the features of him? She is the child of our king!” Quickly the room proclaimed loudly: “Christina, Queen of Sweden, long may she live!” Cohorts taught her and when she was 18 she was crowned the King of Sweden. (Later on she chose Catholicism and abdicated her throne.)

The young man got it and we talked a bit more and he thanked me for helping him. Then I got to thinking that he isn’t the only one who asks that question! I asked that in my younger years and I have friends who ask me today. Let’s face it—when you haven’t seen Jesus in the flesh, it can be easy to be skeptical of what he says he is. And it is the same with God, we haven’t seen God either—yet we’ve decided to believe. Why? It’s our faith—otherwise we would hang on to skepticism. Think of it like this: when we look at Jesus we see a mirror of God’s countenance and demeanor—the very features of God himself. We see the way Jesus loves others—again the love from his Eternal Father. And then there are the miracles, the justice and mercy and grace all from the power of God flowing through his Son.

Each of us have had encounters with such things from the life of Jesus so it’s time to throw out the skepticism and keep walking in faith even when things are going wonky! And let’s remember that Jesus—the Son of God–reveals his Eternal God. Jesus made it possible to know God by all the things he did—showing His love, power, justice, mercy, his incredible character and the best – forgiveness for our sins. Can’t get any better than that, right?

In John 17:24-26 [MSG] Jesus tells it outright for us: “Father, I want those you gave me, to be with me, right where I am, so they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me, having loved me long before there ever was a world. Righteous Father, the world has never known you, but I have known you, and these disciples know that you sent me on this mission. I have made your very being known to them—who you are and what you do and continue to make it known, so that your love for me might be in them exactly as I am in them.”

So let’s REJOICE! Let’s stop the skepticism and embrace Jesus’ words above because indeed, my friends WE CAN FULLY KNOW HIM—ALWAYS! Amen.