The Sonshine  May 2022    By Walter Olsen  

Knowing Him

Introduction

In many ways,  we are known by whom we know. I know that sounds kind of redundant, but I have a point. Knowing others is a significant part of our lives for many reasons. It may determine opportunity, a sense of special blessing, or any number of other things. It may be a source of pride also in declaring our special relationship to other significant people.

However, there is One whom it is crucial for us to know and that, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ. To know Him is the greatest blessing of life and not to know Him is the greatest loss of life.

In this article, I would like for us to consider the various aspects of knowing Him, that is, the various claims of knowing Him. There is a very great difference between claiming to know Him and the reality of knowing Him. Jesus said to Phillip on one occasion, A...have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Phillip?@ (Jn. 14:9).  It was not that Phillip didn=t know who Jesus was, but perhaps that he didn=t know Him more intimately. He knew Him externally, kind of from a distance. It is the way many people know Jesus today. They are generally familiar with who He is as the Son of God, and even their Savior, but often there is little or no personal fellowship with Him.