Knowing Christ
In every pre-marital counseling session, I always open with the same question: “Tell me something new you’ve learned about the other.” The reason is simple. The more we love someone, the more we seek to know about them; and the more we know about someone, the more we love them. Knowledge and love rise together as the moon and the tide. One can diagnose the health of a marriage by their desire to know one another. If this is true in our earthly relationships, then we can expect it to be equally true in our relationship with Christ. Jesus Himself says: “This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) Paul attributes our growth in holiness to our knowledge of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). One could say that truth is unto holiness.
Now, we are faced with a fundamental question - how do we grow in our knowledge of Christ? By spending time in Him and in His revelation of Himself. In the same way as we learn of our friends through their actions and reactions, so too we learn of Jesus Christ in the same way. Added to this, we grow in our knoweldge of Him through the expectations of the Old Testament. The hopes of the church under age provides fuel for love’s flame in the church today. For many of us, this can seem like a daunting task. We wrestle with our daily Bible reading, and we have a hard time holding such a vast expanse of material in our hands. How can we possible learn of Christ when the knowledge is so much and His glory is so great?
Mark Jones provides a valuable devotional tool in Knowing Christ. In twenty-seven chapters, averaging ten pages a piece, Mark Jones walks us through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The topics range from Christ’s divinity, Chris’t’s temptations, Christ’s emotions, Christ’s face, and so forth. Mark Jones treats Christ as a gem of precious value, turning it over and over to capture each individual glimmer of His glory. Knowing Christ has a few strengths to aid the average Bible reader. For one, each chapter is rich, yet concise. Instead of slogging through pages upon pages of theological lingo, Mark Jones makes each day’s reading attainable - both in terms of breadth and depth. Two, each chapter is rooted in a rich theological heritage. He quotes the Westminster Confession of Faith and a host of authors in order to illustrate the continuity of Christological thought and to display how these truths have been a comfort for God’s people throughout the ages. Third, Knowing Christ challenges us. For the teenager to the theologian, each chapter provides broad areas of comfortable and a few areas to challenge our understanding, such as theological terms and concepts that we may have heard but not defined. Fourth and finally, Mark Jones provides a short section of “Study Questions” in the back to guide our thoughts about Christ. In short, Mark Jones makes Christ to be what He was to the little children in ancient Israel - accessible and attainable, rich and refreshing.
If you are considering adding a piece of devotional literature to your 2024 reading list, this one should be at the top. By spending 15 or 20 minutes meditating on Christ each day, you will find yourself transformed more and more into His image. You will find truth is unto holiness. You can purchase a copy here.
