It’s not what you know, it is who you know…
I’ve heard that advice for decades. As I was finishing high school and moving into university, then on into my career, like many other parents taught their kids, my parents taught me this idea, that I should develop relationships with others.
Working through my career, various people consistently told me to invest in relationships with those who were ahead of me. Build your network. Connect with the right people.
Well, a career is one thing. Yes, it is important to be able to support yourself and support your family. We must make money to be able to live. Absolutely.
But your eternity is a different level of discussion, a different level of importance altogether. It isn’t discussed nearly as often, but as we think about our eternity, we are discussing a topic that is vastly more important than anything that we may have done, or anything that I ever will do, related to my work.
And yet, there is a similarity between these two things. With regard to my eternity, it isn’t what I know, it is instead who I know that will make the difference. It isn’t what I have done, but it is instead who I have been with and who I have done it for that will change everything related to my eternity.
Jesus is wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7. The final idea, aside from telling the people that they would be wise to put his words into practice, was that we must know him if we are to enter his kingdom:
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Matthew 7:21-23
Jesus says that only those who do the will of his Father in heaven can enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Clear enough, but then, strangely, Jesus shares some objections that people will use when he refuses them entry into the kingdom:
Did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not perform miracles in your name?
I say “strangely” because these things seem like they would be doing the will of the Father. Don’t they? Aren’t these not only good religious or spiritual types of activities, but maybe someone would even say next level religious or spiritual activities? How many people do you know who are out giving true prophecies? Or truly driving out demons? Or truly performing miracles in Jesus’s name?
How could it possibly be that these activities would not be the will of the Father? How is it possible that driving out demons would not be what God would want us to do? Isn’t that precisely what Jesus just said that we must do? To do the will of the Father, and those that do that would enter the kingdom of heaven?
I think there are a couple of important points to make here:
First, at the final day, despite the objections, Jesus says to these same people, “I never knew you.” Amongst all of the important things that we can do, the most important thing that we can do in our lives is to know Jesus.
A little later, in fact, Jesus says that we must remain connected to him. He used as a parable an example of him being like the vine in a vineyard and we like the branches. If the branch wants to stay alive, it must stay attached to the vine. We said must abide in him. But how?
By reading his words. By remaining in prayer. In stillness and listening to his Spirit speak to our spirit. In doing what he says to do. Each of these ways will allow us to abide in him, to know him. This is how we can know Jesus.
Second, when we know him, we will also know what he wants from us. Yes, there may be a time when he asks us to prophecy. There may be a time when he calls upon us to drive out a demon or to step forward to be the hand that performs the miracle that he wishes to do. But doing these things doesn’t necessarily guarantee that we are doing the will of the Father.
By knowing Jesus, we can know what he is doing. Jesus came to reestablish his kingdom on the earth. The Israelites had rejected God as their king, but now the king had come to the earth to reestablish his rule and reign. He had come to give himself, to purchase people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, ripping them out of the kingdom of darkness by purchasing them away from that kingdom with his blood so that they could come into the kingdom of God. Jesus himself is the king and his Father’s will is to establish the king upon the throne of the kingdom of God forever, bringing all people into his kingdom.
If we know and understand this… If we know that this is the will of the Father, then we work with Jesus to do what he wants to accomplish, and do exactly what he told us to do. We become part of his plan.
It isn’t enough to do what we want to do. It isn’t enough to only prophecy. It isn’t enough to only drive out demons. It isn’t enough to only do miracles.
Yes, there were instances that Jesus had his disciples do these things, and there will be instances in which we are called upon to do the same. But these weren’t the primary things that Jesus told us to do. However, we wouldn’t know that if we don’t truly know Jesus.
If, instead, we look around us within our world today and see religious works that draw attention, if we look to see the things that draw the crowds – prophecies, casting out demons, doing miracles, and othr things – and we desire to do those things, then what is it that we desire? We want the works. We want the crowds.
We aren’t wanting Jesus. We aren’t necessarily desiring him.
But if we look to Jesus, to know him, then we both abide with him in both the moments that are quiet and the moments that are loud and public and we know and participate with him in what he is doing.
We know and participate with him in what he is doing.