Three Rs

John 1:^10-12 “He was in the world… the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” (NIV, emphasis added).

Recognize Him? John the Baptist and Jesus were cousins, but John had to recognize Jesus. John did not as his cousin. When he saw Him coming for baptism, John said, “Behold! The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world”, not behold my cousin, cousin Jay. When John, the son of Salome, was interacting with Jesus, the recognition was not that they were relatives. When Salome showed up before Jesus to make her political appeal, she did not come to His as aunty to nephew. Salome went on her knees before Jesus. Recognition is so powerful. You have to recognize the people in your life. If you do not recognize your spouse, you cannot relate to them properly. Your husband is not just that man with a pot belly, he is a great man. Your wife is not just ‘that woman’, she is a great woman.

When you do not recognize even your own children, you cannot get the best from your relationship with them. In John 2, the wedding in Cana, Mary’s actions showed that she recognized Jesus. Mary was able to confidently tell the servants to do anything Jesus tells them to do because she recognized Jesus as a miracle worker. If you do not recognize the people God has put in your life, you will be casual in your relationship with them and you will not get the best from them. In fact, when the enemy wants to play tricks on people, particularly in the dream state, he brings people they recognize. A Yoruba proverb says, “Do not use yesterday’s eye to look at even your people in your life.” In other words, it is costly to insist on relating to people based on your previous knowledge of them. The person may have been your classmate, but the person has gone to pay some prizes, you are not classmates anymore.

One of my Pastor friends was my classmate in secondary school. However, every time we are together, he is always asking questions and taking notes. One day, I told him to please stop doing that and his response was, “Pastor Femi, we may have been classmates, but we are not ‘grace-mates’” I was hearing that for the first time and I wondered what it meant. There are people in your life, you may be classmates, but you are not ‘grace-mates’. If someone ranks higher than you, he or she ranks higher than you – recognize it. If you cannot recognize, you cannot receive. If do not recognize and receive, you cannot obtain the rights. These are the three Rs of greatness in God; you have to recognize, receive, and then obtain the rights. Similarly, for you to be saved you need to recognize you are a sinner and you need a Saviour. You need to recognize Jesus as the only sacrifice that can take away your sin. Then you need to receive Him and then obtain the right to become a child of God. John 1:^13-14 “who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh…” (NRSV].

Prayer: Father, by Your Spirit, help me to recognize, receive, and obtain the rights in my walk with You, my relationships, my investments, and in my destiny, in Jesus Name. Amen!