Do You Know Jesus?

May grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. - 2 Peter 1:2

Do you know Jesus?

Often in ministry you meet someone who is from a city or region where a friend or acquaintance happens to live and you ask, "Do you know ________?" A typical response that I have heard (and given) is, "No, but I have heard of him." The point being that there is a big difference between knowing someone and knowing about them.

On Sunday, March 8, 2009, a gunman walked into a church in Maryville, IL and killed the pastor as he stood ready to preach God's Word. I did not know Pastor Winters, but I had heard of him. Many others knew him well and, along with his family, suffered a great loss. Here is the thing. Pastor Winters knew Jesus and that knowledge made every difference to his eternity.

None of us has any idea what we may face this day, but whatever comes our way, there can be no more important question than this, "Do you know Jesus?"

Epistemology is the study of knowledge. By what conduit do we know what we know? - Theodore Bikel