Experiential Knowledge

There are people that we "know" because we've spent time with them, hung out with them, gone to battle with them, maybe even gone against them and came out with a better understanding and are now friends. We have a better understanding of people (or we know them better) when we go through the struggles of life together. ---We don't really know people we don't spend time with. We don't really know people if we've never seen how they react "tested under fire" in the struggles of life. We know this about people and relationships. This is common sense. We know that when a couple gets married and they have full knowledge of one another on that honeymoon night and thereafter...somewhere along the way this experiential knowledge will bear fruit. ---So it is for the follower of Jesus. Full experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ bears the fruit that God desires of each of His children. (Jn15) Jesus says that if we abide in Him then we will bear much fruit. He says that it is for the glory of the Father that we bear much fruit. God expects His children to bear fruit. So, why are so many Christians rotten fruit? Why are so many Christians barren? That answer is found in Jn.15, and Col.1:9-10. Too many Christians lack the full knowledge or experiential knowledge of Christ. We know people because we spend time with them. However, when it comes to God, we're too busy or distracted to spend quality time with God. We give God the scraps of our time. If we did that with the people around us, they would move on to new friends. We treat God as if He owes us something, or He is lucky we give Him five minutes out of our day (because we are so important. Ha!).---My hope is that we would all check ourselves on this blind spot. It's common sense. Are you better succulent fruit for God? Do you have full experiential knowledge of God? Do you know His will for your life? If you knew Him you would know His will for your life. For one thing, He wants you to bear fruit, but before that happens you must abide in him; like the branch is to abide in the vine. Abide, abide, abide in Him is the way to experience... to know God. When we do that we show ourselves to be Christ's disciples. Remember, it was the disciples that got to see the really cool stuff. Everyone else had to hear about it.