I've not yet seen the recently released movie, "Get Smart". My children have all seen it and said that they loved the movie. However, I remember as a child the television version of that the show and Maxwell Smart always saying, "missed it by that much!" This phase came to me the other day and my mind started pondering the power of that comical phrase.
As a missionary here in Brazil I found that if you ask a Brazilian if they believe in God, most of them would say, "of course I believe in God!". One of the things that I quickly do is to open my Bible to the book of James and I read to them James 2:19 where James ask the readers a very important question, he writes: "You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." (NASB) In the Portuguese, the word "[to] believe" is the word "crer". I always ask the Brazilian, does that mean that demons will also one day be with God in heaven (after all, the same word that the Brazilian used is the same word that I show them from the book of James)? Of which, I always get the same response, "of couse not!".
However, if you ask them do they "know" God, the answer may be different. In the Portuguese language, there are two words used of our one English word, "know", those words are "saber" and "conhecer". A basic understanding of these two words goes like this; the word, "saber" means to know about someone or something (for example, I know about President Bush, however, he never calls me to ask me of my opinion), the other word "conhecer" means to know intimately about someone or something (for example, I know my wife and children, they too know me as a husband and father). So, if you ask a Brazilian do they "saber" or "conhecer" God, especially to know Him in His fullness through a personal relationship through God's One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, the answer that you may get could be various.
My question to you is this, do you know Jesus? That is, do you recognize His historical reality (that He really was a person in history), or maybe His place of birth in Bethlehem, or His being a being a good teacher, or a leader of a movement within the Jewish culture of His time, etc.? Or, do you know Him as your Savior and Lord of your life? Jesus is quoted as saying in the book of Mark (8:36) "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (NKJV) What if you're like ole Maxwell Smart and you know many things about Jesus, but don't really know Him? What if you "missed it by that much!"? What if you've been doing the things of Christ (being kind to your neighbor, not gossiping, volunteering at your favorite charity, not robbing any banks, going to church, etc.), but don't know who He really is? Jesus said, (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB):
As a missionary here in Brazil I found that if you ask a Brazilian if they believe in God, most of them would say, "of course I believe in God!". One of the things that I quickly do is to open my Bible to the book of James and I read to them James 2:19 where James ask the readers a very important question, he writes: "You believe that God is one You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." (NASB) In the Portuguese, the word "[to] believe" is the word "crer". I always ask the Brazilian, does that mean that demons will also one day be with God in heaven (after all, the same word that the Brazilian used is the same word that I show them from the book of James)? Of which, I always get the same response, "of couse not!".
However, if you ask them do they "know" God, the answer may be different. In the Portuguese language, there are two words used of our one English word, "know", those words are "saber" and "conhecer". A basic understanding of these two words goes like this; the word, "saber" means to know about someone or something (for example, I know about President Bush, however, he never calls me to ask me of my opinion), the other word "conhecer" means to know intimately about someone or something (for example, I know my wife and children, they too know me as a husband and father). So, if you ask a Brazilian do they "saber" or "conhecer" God, especially to know Him in His fullness through a personal relationship through God's One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, the answer that you may get could be various.
My question to you is this, do you know Jesus? That is, do you recognize His historical reality (that He really was a person in history), or maybe His place of birth in Bethlehem, or His being a being a good teacher, or a leader of a movement within the Jewish culture of His time, etc.? Or, do you know Him as your Savior and Lord of your life? Jesus is quoted as saying in the book of Mark (8:36) "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (NKJV) What if you're like ole Maxwell Smart and you know many things about Jesus, but don't really know Him? What if you "missed it by that much!"? What if you've been doing the things of Christ (being kind to your neighbor, not gossiping, volunteering at your favorite charity, not robbing any banks, going to church, etc.), but don't know who He really is? Jesus said, (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB):
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.'"
I would hate for ANY of us reading or writing this blog to be doing great things for Jesus, but not knowing Jesus personally. I would hate for any of us to miss it "by that much!"
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