(15) The Person of Jesus

Do you remember first meeting someone in your life who eventually became dear to you? Maybe it was your spouse, or a best friend. During that first meeting your knowledge of that person grew exponentially. That total stranger, or near stranger, was on their way to becoming a close friend. But even after that first meeting, you knew only a fraction of what could be known about him or her. Your relationship deepened through increased knowledge about that person. You came to know both important facts, but also what made that person special. And your love for them deepened.
Your relationship with Jesus is something like this. At one point, Jesus is a near stranger to us. Through conversion we truly come to know Jesus. But the start of that friendship is only the beginning of getting to know him. Peter commands us to grow in our knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and he ties that growth in knowledge of Christ to our growth in his grace. How we think about Jesus goes hand-in-hand with how we trust him, love him, and serve him.
Listen to what Scripture says about the person of Jesus, not how you might have studied the history of famous people of the past, but how you listened with sincere and eager interest as you came to know the story of a dear friend or lover.