What’s On Your Bucket List?

A little girl came up to me this year as I was subbing for another class at her school and said, “Hey, guess what?” Now this was the first time I had seen her since last year at school when I was a substitute teacher for her class. I wasn't prepared to guess what.  No, “Hello! How was your summer? Glad to see you this year.” or even, “Who are you subbing for today?” Just, “Hey, guess what?”

Well that’s how John started his letter we call First John. No greeting. No warm fuzzy welcome. Just “Hey, Guess what?”

1 John 1:1

We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning, whom we have seen. We saw Him with our own eyes and touched Him with our own hands. He is the Word of Life.

Well, just jump right in there, John. And we don’t even know who his “we” are. I mean, he was the last of the apostles alive. He was it in the eyewitness department. It was just John left to verify and give irrefutable evidence of Jesus. He said, without hesitation or preamble,

"Hey, guess what? Let me tell you what I've seen and heard. I was there with Jesus. Jesus Christ is God. He is the Word from God. He is the Eternal Life Giver. That’s it. No gray. Just truth. His name is Christ, Word, and Life."

  Then he repeats himself just to make sure we get it.

1 John 1:2-4

He, Jesus Christ, was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us – that which we have seen and heard we proclaim to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

And guess why John wrote this book? So that his readers would be able to know how to fellowship with each other and God now and eternally. Because of Jesus, we have God, the word from God, and eternal life from God. And John just wanted us to know this before he died. Theologians guess he was about 80 years old when he wrote these last letters in our Bibles. It was on his bucket list to get this testimony out to as many people as he could. And he did a very good job. Thanks, John.

My little friend at school reminded me to put the proclamation of the Gospel on my bucket list.

Sometimes I need to just get out there and say,

“Hey, guess what?’

“I personally know Jesus. Let me tell you all about Him!”

Is this proclamation on your bucket list too?