How Well Do You Really Know God?

“The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?' Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me.” (Jeremiah 2:8)

We live in a self-important society.  We take personality tests.  We use social media to broadcast what is on our mind.  We hear slogans that tell us we deserve a reward.  But, in order to live in such a way that God is most glorified, we must pursue a greater knowledge of Him.  To really be who God made us to be, we must make knowing Him more important than knowing ourselves.  Who God is will transform our own lives, our relationships, and our own sense of identity.

One of the biggest spiritual dangers we face is knowing God’s teachings without knowing God.  This is what had happened to the people during the time of the prophet Jeremiah.  They knew God’s laws, but didn’t really know Him personally.  They didn’t trust, love, or rely on God.  In fact, they thought other things would make them happier than God would.  As a result, though they practiced a few religious rituals, but their hearts eventually turned away from God completely.

So, how will this understanding change the way we live?

The way you feel about God is vital to your relationship with Him.  It affects your confidence that He is there to help you, and your trust that He will deliver you out of your afflictions and help you through your mistakes, problems and difficulties. (See Psalms 34:19) 

Have you ever gone on a long journey with someone, maybe a friend you thought you knew well when you began?  Then maybe you’ve also noticed that you know the same friend in a completely different light after the trip.  What you experienced together brought you even closer together.  You have even more in common.

All that we know, all that we see around us, and all that we have or hope for comes from God’s graciousness.  God’s creation of this physical universe set the stage for God’s plan and purpose for mankind.  It is a gift of God. Even our life and breath is a gift of God.  The apostle John writes, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” (1 John 3:1-3)

The fundamental difference between knowing about God and knowing God is about personal relationships.  Because God is a person, you can know about Him but you don’t really know Him until you have a personal relationship with Him.  We have to reveal things to each other and be willing to share in each other’s lives.  The staggering promise of the Bible is that we can know God like this and that He wants us to know Him and share in His eternal life!

I think one of the fundamental differences between Christianity and other religions is that we can know God as a person.  How do we know that God is a person?  Well, He came down to earth and became a man in the person of Jesus Christ.  Jesus didn’t come just to heal and teach them how to be better people.  He came primarily to reveal who, not what God is and how we can have a relationship with Him.  We tend to think of relationships as being between human beings.  But way before the creation of the world, relationship existed within God.  This three-person relationship is what we call the Trinity.

So how do we go about building this relationship?

There were some people who thought they were very good and looked down on everyone else.  Jesus used this story to teach them, “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-- robbers, evildoers, adulterers-- or even like this tax collector. "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)

The tax collector in this story felt guilty.  Perhaps he had been dishonest and greedy. He felt unworthy. But he humbled himself before God, and was willing to admit who he really was and that he needed mercy.  As a result, he got closer to God.  He learned firsthand how merciful God is.  The Pharisee, on the other hand, probably felt guilt in his heart, as well, but chose to avoid it.  He only filled his mind with himself and the ways he thought he was better than other people.  He didn’t admit any sins of his own, and so he couldn’t really feel God’s mercy. 

You can’t be friends with God unless you are willing to put some effort into getting to know him.  Have you ever had a one-sided friendship?  Where you were always the one calling or texting or initiating hang out time? It probably didn’t feel too good.  Yet, that’s how we make God feel when we don’t put in effort to get to know Him. 

The effort God wants us to make is not following rules, it’s believing. God wants us to put spiritual work into believing in Him and believing He sent Jesus to take away our sins so we can be close to Him.  Knowing who God is affects how we treat others.  When we lack mercy, we have poisoned relationships because we’re holding on to things.  Also, when we can understand who God is, for instance, as Creator, it changes the way we worship.  We’re not just worshiping when the music is catchy or the hymns sound majestic, but we’re worshiping in spirit and in truth. (See John 4:24)

Let me encourage you to spend quality time with God.  Get to know Him, not just know about Him. Draw near to Him, and He will draw near to you.  Open your heart to Him, and He will open His heart to you.  As you spend time with God, you will not find hidden flaws, you will only find hidden beauty.

Moses spent time with God, and the glory of the Lord radiated from his face!  May the same be said of you and me!

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