Jesu, juva
A verse that should shake us.
There are verses in the Bible that comfort us, and there are verses that should shake us awake.
Matthew 7:23 is one of the latter.
Matthew 7:23 (KJV)
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Jesus says there will be people who throughout their life have done many spiritual things. They have been faithful in church attendance. They take part in church ministries such as teaching, leading, and missionary efforts. From every appearance they are known to be stellar christians. Yet one day will hear the most terrifying words in scripture: “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
That verse only gets more sobering when we hold it up next to Jeremiah 1:5
Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV)
5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Two realities, side by side: a God who knew us before we had a name, and a Savior who will one day tell some people, “I never knew you.”
The man God knew before we were born
Scripture is clear: we are not an accident or an afterthought. God tells Jeremiah that before he ever existed, God knew him and appointed him. That’s not just a theological truth; it’s a picture of God’s intention.
There is a version of us God had in mind before we took our first breath. A man formed in Christ’s image, steadily shaped by the Spirit, called to walk in good works prepared in advance.
That man is not defined by his past sin, his family history, or his culture’s expectations. He is defined by God’s design. He does not merely recognize us, He envisions us.
The danger of becoming someone Jesus does not recognize.
Now comes the hard edge of this message. Matthew 7 shows us that it is possible to live an active, religious, even impressive life and still become someone Jesus does not recognize as His own. “I never knew you.”
One day Jesus could look at a man and say in effect, “I knew who I saw the potential in you to become, but you used the free will I gave you to become someone completely different, far different than the person I intended you to be.”
That should stop every kingdom minded man in his tracks.
It is possible to drift so far into the patterns of this world, into performance, image, and self‑rule, that the man we are building day by day no longer resembles the man God knew in the womb.
At that point, we may still speak Christian language, still know Christian facts, still do Christian activities. One critical thing is missing. Relationship! Jesus doesn’t just weigh our resume. He looks for Himself in us.
The daily question: who are you becoming?
This brings the question right to our chest: Who are we becoming? That’s not a branding question or a career question; it’s a discipleship question.
• Are we becoming the man Jesus knew when we were in our mother’s womb? Are we the man He had in mind, the man He created us to become?
• Or, are we slowly being conformed to the patterns of this world, so much so that one day, even if we have done a lot of “good christian like things” along the way, Jesus could look at us and say, “I don’t know who you are”?
Every decision, every habit, every hidden compromise is forming us into someone. Silence forms us. Screens form us. The voices we trust, the people we imitate, the grudges we keep, the secret sins we excuse. All of it is pushing us toward one of two directions: the man God intended, or a stranger to Jesus.
Walking back into the man God intended
The good news is this: if the Spirit is using this to unsettle us, it is not to crush us; it is to call us back. Conviction is proof that God has not given up on who He intended us to be.
So what does it look like, practically, to move toward the man God knew in the womb, the potential He sees in us?
We need to return to relationship, not just activity. Not settling for doing things “for God” while neglecting time with God. Commit to spending more time quietly sitting with Him in His Word.
Let’s ask for and allow the Holy Spirit to search our heart and make us aware of areas that we can improve in following His direction. It’s time to determine not to accept a life of just checking off religious boxes.
• Confess where we’ve drifted. It’s critical that we name the places where we have used our free will to become “someone completely different” than what He intended. We have to bring those places into the light.
• Submit our formation. We need to ask the Lord on a daily basis to show us where the world is shaping us more than the Word. We change what we consume, who we listen to, and how we spend our time, so our life is being formed around His voice.
• Obey in the small, hidden places. The man God knew in the womb is not built in public first; he is built in secret obedience. The quiet “yes” to the Spirit on an ordinary Monday matters more than a big spiritual moment elsewhere any day.
We don’t have to engineer some grand reinvention. We have to surrender, step by step, to the One who already knows what we were meant to look like, what God envisioned us before we were born.
A closing challenge to kingdom men
If this doesn’t challenge us, nothing will. This is not a call to panic; it is a call to alignment.
Brothers, there is a day coming when we will look into the eyes of the One who formed us in our mother’s womb and who will also judge our life. On that day, the only thing that will matter is whether the man standing before Him is the man He knew all along we could be, or a stranger formed by a different kingdom.
Today, while we still have breath, let’s ask Him: “Lord, show me where I’ve become out of alignment and lead me back to the man You envision me to be.”
Then get up, and with a gentle heart and a warrior mindset, start becoming that man.
Blane
SDG
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