Hebrews 8:11 “No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest.”

What a blessed eventuality! The thing is, we certainly aren’t there yet, so we indeed need to be encouraging each other to know the Lord. There are far too many people, even in “Christian” nations, who may know His name, but they certainly don’t have a personal relationship with Him. And on top of that, there are still places in the world where people don’t even know His name, or know it only as a curse. There’s a lot of work to do until the fulfillment of the new covenant! The average person doesn’t even think about God most of the time, so encouraging each other to do so is a very good exercise. God made this promise to Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 31, which was over 2500 years ago, so we’re dealing with God’s timeline here. However, if God said it, that settles it, so we’d better live like we believe it! We need to be active in making disciples of the people of all nations, just as Jesus told us to do very clearly just before His ascension. (Matthew 28:18-20) We call that “The Great Commission,” but most of us ignore it! Discipleship should be the dominant theme of our lives, making more disciples as an outgrowth of our own discipleship toward our Lord. That it isn’t, even for most Christians, is a very sad commentary on human nature. The more and better we know Christ, the more we will want everyone else to know Him too, for a blessed cascade of discipleship.

This is indeed the theme of my life, but I’m certainly not perfect, or even fully consistent, about it. I live in a distinctly non-Christian culture – though Japan has much to admire – so the opportunities to share Christ are limitless. However, as my recent trip to the US reminded me, modern culture can hardly be called genuinely Christian anywhere! There are obstacles to communicating the Gospel everywhere I go, but I can do everything God asks of me, (Philippians 4:13) and nothing is impossible for Him. (Luke 1:37, Matthew 17:20) I am to rejoice at every opportunity the Lord gives me to share His truth, His love, so that more and more people may indeed know Him, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the extreme dizziness and nausea You allowed me to experience yesterday, and for the reminder that was of the very high level of good health I enjoy most of the time. Thank You for the help of my wife’s care manager in getting to a doctor, and that the whole thing seems to have been a passing incident. I pray that yesterday’s events would indeed draw that care manager, as well as the man who was helping with our yard work yesterday, to seek and know You for themselves. May every moment of my life accurately reflect Your presence in me, so that all I encounter may come to know You, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!