How can you love Jesus when you don’t see Him? How can you have a “personal relationship” with someone who is not physically present?

When I was younger, I would pray that God would give me a dream where I was a disciple with Jesus. I wanted, just for a night, to be able to walk with Him, talk with Him, and experience what it would have been like. I think this is part of why shows like The Chosen (despite their flaws) are so popular. They give people a vision of what friendship and fellowship with Jesus could have been like.

But I never got the answer to my prayer, and we don’t live in a TV series.

Jesus is not physically here anymore.

On Easter, we celebrate the good news that Jesus is alive. But He is not physically present. Are we missing out, or can we still know Jesus like the disciples did?

What Was It Like to Fellowship with Jesus?

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have observed and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—that life was revealed, and we have seen it and we testify and declare to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us—what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1–4 CSB)

John says that during Jesus’s time on earth the disciples experienced direct fellowship with Him.

Imagine how awesome that would be! You would never have to pray for wisdom when facing a difficult decision; you just walk up to Jesus and ask Him your question. You wouldn’t have to ask for God’s comfort; you just go on a walk with Jesus, eat a meal with Him, and receive His hug. You wouldn’t have to ask for His peace; He may literally calm the storm. You wouldn’t have to pray for God to help you; you could just ask Jesus to come over to your house and physically help you with your kids, or guest preach at your church, or join the prayer team. You would never have to wonder why God is silent or feel that He’s distant. You would have living fellowship with Him. You would listen, talk, and enjoy.

John says this fellowship was complete joy. All other joys are incomplete shadows of this joy. They have shape and form but miss the color, detail, and fullness of what they point to.

The death of Jesus could have crushed His disciples for many reasons. But one easily forgotten aspect is they lost their friend. They enjoyed being with Him. However great your best friend is, he or she is not perfect. No matter how kind or wise the most mature saints in your church may be, they don’t compare with Jesus. Whatever qualities you enjoy in your close circle of friends that make you eager to spend time with them are but degrees and reflections of the fulfillment found in Jesus.

Jesus is called the word of life, the source of all goodness, fulfillment, and satisfaction. To know Him is to know true life. This must have been one reason the resurrection was such good news. The disciples’ joyful fellowship was restored!

This is what they had. But what about us?

Can We Have This Joyful Fellowship?

John is not trying to make us jealous. He invites us, saying, “What we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us.” The resurrection means Jesus is still alive; He still offers this fellowship.

This is one aspect that sets Christianity apart from all the other major world religions. They don’t claim that after the death of their leader you can still have fellowship with them. No one says they have a personal relationship with Buddha or Mohammad or Moses. Those were teachers who brought a message. But after their death, they were gone.

But the resurrection means Jesus brought more than a message. He brought even more than forgiveness. He brought fellowship with Himself. And John, writing to believers like us, who never met Jesus in the flesh, says we can still have this.

How Do We Experience This Fellowship?

John says, “What we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.”

This means the purpose of his letter (and by extension, what we know to be true of all God’s Word) is that we would have fellowship with Jesus, which fulfills and completes our joy.

The word of life came to the disciples in the incarnation, and it comes to us through declaration. We are able to experience the joy of fellowship that they had as we read and interact with the living Word of God.

Sometimes when we read a good book or watch a movie, we begin to feel like we know the characters, like we are a part of the story. We may cry at the death of Dumbledore, be inspired by the speeches on horseback, or clap at the victory shot in Hoosiers. Though our emotion is real, our presence with the characters is not. But the Bible is more.

The Bible isn’t just a book to be studied and applied. It’s the voice of the living God. We don’t just read; we relate. God speaks to us, actively, today. We listen as God speaks (His promises, correction, revealing His character and work), and we respond back in prayer (worship, thanksgiving, confession, supplication).

Jesus is not physically present, but by His Spirit, He leads us into real fellowship with Him through His Word.

One day we will see Him face to face; we will experience the fullness of uninhibited communion. But right now, we are not settling for second best. The resurrection means the best person to ever live, the only God-man to ever live, is still alive, and we can enjoy fellowship with Him today. Don’t settle for watching on TV or dreaming about what is available to you today.