By Tonja Condray Klein©01/29/21
As Americans plunge into the new year of 2021, changes are happening that many may not even realize the significance of when it comes to our freedoms, our rights, and our responsibilities. I’m the daughter of a deceased U.S. veteran of World War II born in 1913, so I will probably react very differently than most of my generation since my dad was already 59 years old when I was born. Yes, I will be 49 this year, my mother turns 90, and my sister will be 71. We each have her own viewpoints of how to live her own life, but all three of us know the fundamental truth in the title.
During different decades the truth in the title never really has faltered – whether in places of employment, groups in society, or even at school it always was about WHO you knew to get the best position, the best material goods, or the best clubs to add skills to your academics. There was a time when I was younger and in church that I didn’t think that it mattered there, but I’m seeing a disparity even in those places where it should never be about ‘who’ as far as people, but more about the WHO as in God Almighty through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case.
I believe in Grace through Faith and that not of myself. I believe that my standing in church should be about the love that I show others to express the Love of God the Father as His child. While I work to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, I don’t ‘earn points’ or get a higher ‘ranking’ with God for any of it. While I sometimes doubt that Truth and try to PROVE that I am spiritually minded I usually fall flat on my face when I feel so good about what I’ve done that I forget what Jesus Christ already did for me and through me for you. HE is WHO!
I have always had too much pride in my abilities at school when it came to my grades since I was so sick it was truly a miracle that I got good grades at all. I try to give Jesus the glory since He was the One to save me then give His Holy Spirit to me for help in this world. Yet still, I might try to write more enigmatically (big word that perhaps shows intellect) than I should to prove that I’m not a blonde idiot. Yes, the blonde thing is another issue I’ve dealt with in life though my mother says I didn’t, but she wasn’t at school or work with me. What I’m learning now is NOT the WHAT.
I have heard some of the most prevalent educational people say the DUMBEST things in my almost 49 years. I am aware that you are supposed to spell out the age, but I’m trying to be more honest, open, and less vernacularly high. For anyone who knows that word then you know I’m making a joke about that adjective. I LOVE the English language! Grammar, adjectives, and complex sentences always got great grades in English class, and since I’m a writer by choice now I’m not going to apologize for wanting people to look up what some words mean. There is a point in stating that.
Jesus doesn’t want you to memorize the statutes in Leviticus, the genealogy of the church fathers, or the main feasts celebrated in ancient times. Jesus doesn’t want you to quote scripture for the sake of impressing those at the church you attend either. Jesus wants you to know HIM. Reading the Holy Bible helps you to know HIM. Praying each time you need to helps you to know HIM. Going to church to fellowship with fellow believers in the Salvation He bled to give to you helps you to know HIM. It’s not about us. It’s always about HIM – Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior.
Do you KNOW HIM? Even when doubt slips into my consciousness after 41 years serving Jesus Christ as my Savior, Lord, King, and God, I still have to remind myself of the simple Truth I will believe with my dying breath – I KNOW HIM. Not a religion. Not a principle. Not a philosophy. When I hear a Spirit-inspired song play and cry, I do it because I KNOW HIM. When I read scriptures and think about how He was even before those words were, I KNOW HIM. When I feel the Holy Spirit move inside my heart and soul during the rough times then I KNOW HIM.
It’s personal. It’s passionate. It’s poignant. It’s more than I’ll ever deserve, more than I can ever repay, and more than I will ever be able to truly explain. The Bible says He sings over those He loves. I sometimes think I can hear a song now one else ever has, and though I may be imagining it, I will still try to listen to just a moment to catch the words to use for a song I might write to share with others. It truly is something worth living for, worth dying for, worth giving for, and worth everything. Do I ever want my books to be known and enjoyed by readers? Sure, but I’d rather YOU KNOW HIM.