But
even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then
it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim
the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. (Galatians 1:15-16a)
A common mission statement among
many churches and Christian organizations is to know God and make him known.
You can’t make God known if you don’t know him.
Likewise, you cannot fully know him
without making him known.
A chemical formula is equal on both
sides of the equation. For instance, the chemical formula for water is
H2O. The chemical equation is
H2+O=H2O. Both sides of the equation
need to be equal to form water. It is
much the same with our relationship with God.
We have to know him to make him known.
You cannot give away what you don’t have. In a balanced Christian life, there is a
dynamic tension between the knowledge of God and endeavoring to reveal him to a
sick and dying world. My observation of
my own experience and many others is that we often struggle to balance our
spiritual equation.
Our relationship with God tends to
tip in one direction or the other. We
spend all or most of our time studying or praying with very little time for
practical manifestations of our faith.
Or we spend an excessive amount of our waking hours doing for God with
little effort expended on knowing him.
The answer is not either, or, but and, both.
Striking a balance between doing and
being is critical. Doing for God and
resting in Him need to be in equilibrium.
Maintaining a dynamic tension between knowing God and making Him known
balances our spiritual equation.
Image used with permission by Microsoft.
Image used with permission by Microsoft.
Ken Barnes, the
author of “The Chicken Farm and Other Sacred Places” YWAM
Publishing
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: Ken Barnes' Book Site
Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com
http://gleanings757.blogspot.com
Email: kenbarnes737@gmail.com
website: Ken Barnes' Book Site
Blogs: http://kensblog757.blogspot.com
http://gleanings757.blogspot.com
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