Mark 3:14, “He appointed twelve–designating them apostles –that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.”
Nothing in life is more important than “knowing Jesus” and “making Him known.” To know Jesus is to have an intimate relationship with Him as your Lord and Savior. To make Jesus known is to preach His life-changing gospel to everyone you can. The above passage sets the example which every disciple, in every generation, must be faithful to do.
Knowing Jesus, has to do with your personal relationship with God. Part of your relationship with Him is to grow spiritually. By knowing Jesus, your identity instantly changes and you become a son or daughter of God.
As you spend time with Jesus, your maturity level will change because you learn His heart and hear His will for your life.
Worship, prayer, personal study of God’s Word and being faithful to gather with God’s church is how you grow closer to Jesus. Witnessing, serving others, going on mission trips and preaching the Good News of the gospel is how you help others get closer to Jesus. Knowing Jesus always comes first, making Jesus known always comes second.
Some Christians, today, just want to “know Jesus” and keep Him all to themselves. They are either too lazy or too afraid to share Him with others, so they hide their “light” and no one else is benefited by it. On the other hand, some people are so busy, in ministry for Jesus, that they forget to spend quality time with Jesus, personally. These people believe that “doing” is more important than “being.” This is why people burn out. Jesus taught Martha that being at the Master’s feet is always more important than doing things for the Master (Luke 10:38-42). Remember, ministry is not our Master; Jesus is.
Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The local church is espoused to Christ, but there is always the danger of that love growing cold.” Like Martha, we can be so busy working for Christ that we have no time to love Him. Christ is more concerned about what we do with Him than for Him. Labor is no substitute for love. To the public, the Ephesian church was successful (Revelation 2:1-5); to Christ, it had “fallen.” Therefore, live like the first disciples who knew Jesus, personally, and made Him known, powerfully!
Reflection
Action
- How are you growing closer to Jesus, everyday?
- What are you doing to make Jesus known to others?
- Live, everyday, knowing Jesus and making Him known!
