“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” – 1 John 1:1-4 KJV

Here we have a testimony from a real person who had a real encounter with Jesus Christ. John didn’t just hear about Jesus; he saw Him face to face; yet he didn’t just see Him face to face, but learned from Him as he walked with Him day by day.  As a result of this he was not only filled with joy; he was moved with a passion to share his experience with others.  Not only with those of his time, but also with all who would come after him, that is, with you and me.

Unfortunately, John was persecuted for his faith; and so it is the same today with many who share the same faith.  For just as wicked men sought to rob John of his joy, a number of people in this world would like to do the same to us by denying that Jesus had ever existed.  Many seek to do this by insulting us because we essentially don’t think like they do, while some are more ruthless than others in that they would even go so far as to carry out acts of violence against us if they had an opportunity to do so–simply because we believe in Jesus Christ.

Listen, these angry souls can batter and bruise us with their hateful words as much as they want, and even take our lives from us too; but the one thing that they will never be able to do is take our experience with Jesus Christ away from us.  For Jesus had said,

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” – John 10:27-29 KJV

Indeed, Jesus has done something for us that these God haters will never be able to do: Not only has He taken the stain of our guilt away; He has transformed our callous hearts into something beautiful.  And best of all, He has given us the gift of eternal life. What a shame it is that these God haters are throwing away the gift that Jesus wants to give to them.  For the Lord desires to fill their lives with joy; He wants what’s best for them.  But they refuse to accept His good way because they think that they know what’s best for themselves.

Yet these people are miserable and discouraged about life; they aren’t satisfied or content, but are always reaching for more and more of what they don’t have, hoping to find happiness in lifeless things.  Of course, they will deny that they have this need by saying that they are happy; but deep down inside they know that they aren’t completely content. If they were, then why would they try so hard to make our lives miserable by insulting us for exercising faith in Jesus Christ?  Would a completely content and happy person really do such a thing?  I think not!

Therefore, don’t let those who behave in this manner discourage you from expressing your faith. For there is no greater pleasure in life than to share Jesus Christ with others. Watching people go from feeling hopeless to becoming hopeful in Christ is truly a miraculous thing. Indeed, there’s something about sharing Jesus Christ with others that brings about great satisfaction and peace of mind. If you aren’t doing this then you are missing out on something wonderful.

Would you like to experience the joy that John speaks of?  If so, then share Jesus with others; and you too will experience what John experienced as you help them find joy in getting to know Jesus Christ too.  Don’t be fearful of the opposition; instead, stare those God haters right in the face and let them know that even if they throw their entire arsenal at you, they will never be able to silence the Truth.