I Never Knew You

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I NEVER KNEW YOU.

I

Never

Knew

You

People through the years have made old age jokes and among the topic of old age the memory failing is a big thing. The jokes while meant to be funny and often are, stop being funny when a loved one really loses their memory from dementia, or Alzheimer's. It is TRAGIC when we hear of those who truly are losing their memories. There have been numerous television movies about Alzheimer's and many television shows that include the topic.  One thing they all have in common is the tragedy it is not to be recognized by a loved one, someone you've known possibly all your life .  Think of your loved one whether they are a mother, father, daughter, son, friend, sister, brother… think of them and imagine them NOT knowing who you are. You go to greet them and they recoil from you. You've known them for YEARS and suddenly, they are denying you. You'd try to get them to remember you, to admit they remember you, that they know who you are. You'd bring up all sorts of shared memories only to realize they are no longer shared.  It's AWFUL to imagine.  Personally I've not had to deal with this sort of thing with anyone. I've never know a person with Alzheimer's or severe dementia of any sort, or anyone who has lost their memory.  I truly can only imagine what it has to be like to try and get someone to admit they know you, because you know them and have known them.

We have to think about this on this sort of level because this is a reality we can hear and see, even touch for ourselves.

These are facts, these sorts of tragic circumstances. 

Why am I going on about this, because of the absolute heartbreak it has to cause to no longer be recognized by someone you love, someone you've known for a long time.

Now imagine the heartbreak of the One you believed to be Your Savior turning to you and telling you- 'I never knew you'.

It won't be a disease that has stripped the memories away. Those words will not be heard because of a sickness, or a head injury has caused forgetfulness.  Those words- like ALL the words Jesus speaks- will be heard because they will be the TRUTH.

Of all the one-sided relationships, this will be the most devastating one of all.

The thing is...the NOT knowing of Jesus will be by choice, not because He did not make Himself available to be known. It won't be because He's been hiding from anyone, He's in PLAIN SIGHT. Access to a relationship with the Savior is available to ALL. You don't have to be rich, in fact that might even be more of a hindrance than an asset. You don't have to be anything but… human. If you fall under the category of being human then you have an opportunity to know Jesus Christ as your PERSONAL Savior.

Do you know Jesus?

Go ahead, answer that question. Do you know Jesus? You do, don't you? You've read all about Him, you've seen movies, read books, heard stories, sermons and such, right? You know who Jesus is, you know Jesus.  Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior? You know He is the Savior and has the power to save you from the horrors of sin in this world, the sin that warrants our damnation, not salvation.  Has Jesus saved you? Has He forgiven you? Does He continue to save you, and forgive you? You can answer yes, if this is true for you.   Now, ask yourself another question- an important question-

Does Jesus know you?

You want to answer instantly, yes, of course He knows me. How could I know Him and He not know me?

Now before we go a step further we have to pause for a moment and contemplate something else. As God with God, Jesus knows everyone, so this is more than the mere knowledge of our existence that is in question here. He knows we exist just as we know many people we've never met, exist. We can know someone exists, without knowing them.  But then you go on and say, but Jesus knows everything about me, I can't know everything about anyone else that exists even if I do know them and have met them.  This is true as well. So WHAT does Jesus really mean when He says- 

'I never knew you.'

These are Jesus' words, not mine.  Jesus is saying 'I never knew you.' 

What does He mean?!

Read this--

2Ti 2:19  Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

Sound familiar?

Christ says He doesn't know those who are claiming to know Him because they WORK INIQUITY.

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

'Let EVERY ONE that nameth the name of CHRIST DEPART FROM INIQUITY!'

Ye work iniquity.

We know what it means when people say those two know each other in the Biblical sense- it means they've had sexual relations.   It doesn't necessarily mean they know each other in any other way because you can have sex with a stranger, a couple can get married having never met until that day and they certainly can't say they know each other in any sort of way except for merely meeting. 

Jesus knows who we are, but can say He never knew us because we CHOOSE to live with a barrier between us, never allowing Him to really know us by SAVING us from our sins. He never knew us because in order to  know us we have to recognize ourselves as sinners in need of constant forgiveness. Our problem lies in ever believing we are sinless in an of ourselves. We only become sinless through HIM and it has to be a CONSTANT relationship of being SAVED. Jesus cannot know us if we live in our sins without ever seeking forgiveness for them.

Please LORD, we would be KNOWN by YOU. Forgive us Lord, forgive us, You are our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST! It is only through YOU and YOUR constant forgiveness that we dare hope to be KNOWN by YOU!

Please Lord, KNOW US, SAVE US!

All in YOUR LOVE.