But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. (Galatians 1:15-16a)

A common mission statement among many churches and Christian organizations is to know God and make him known. You can’t make God known if you don’t know him.  Likewise, you cannot fully know him without making him known.

A chemical formula is equal on both sides of the equation. For instance, the chemical formula for water is H₂O.  The chemical equation is H₂+O=H₂O.  Both sides of the equation need to be equal to form water.  It is much the same with our relationship with God.  We have to know him to make him known.  You cannot give away what you don’t have.  In a balanced Christian life, there is a dynamic tension between the knowledge of God and endeavoring to reveal him to a sick and dying world.  My observation of my own experience and many others is that we often struggle to balance our spiritual equation.

Our relationship with God tends to tip in one direction or the other.  We spend all or most of our time studying or praying with very little time for practical manifestations of our faith.  Or we spend an excessive amount of our waking hours doing for God with little effort expended on knowing him.  The answer is not either, or, but and, both.

Striking a balance between doing and being is critical.  Doing for God and resting in Him need to be in equilibrium.  Maintaining a dynamic tension between knowing God and making Him known balances our spiritual equation.

I worked for seventeen years as a missionary with Youth With A Mission.  My missionary work has taken me to Mexico, Canada, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Spain, and Ukraine.  I hold a Masters of Education in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Commonwealth University.  [email protected]