Getting to Know God
“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” Colossians 3:16
If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth (1 John 2:4).
"But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8).
"Dear friend, don’t let this bad example influence you. Follow only what is good. Remember that those who do good prove that they are God’s children, and those who do evil prove that they do not know God" (3 John 1:11).
How well do you know God?
As I continue on this journey of following Jesus Christ and getting to know God the Father, I am awestruck by His love and complete generosity toward all of us—in every way! Everything He does and desires for us is over-the-top best.
Think about it for a minute.
When we follow His commands, we receive a direct blessing. It is immediate and life-giving. Others are blessed by our obedience, too, because His ways are best. When others sin against us, God somehow weaves it into a tapestry of blessing for us. Can you see it? Maybe you can't see all of it, but can you see a sliver of it?
Then there is the love. His love is so big, so huge. I can't get my mind around it as I experience it. I can't really put it into words other than I see it all around me constantly! In the midst of a fallen world, He is the one bright spot that is unmistakable, unimaginably grand, giver of every good and perfect gift, and He is a constant surprise party!
We can't talk about the love without talking about the gift of His Son, Jesus, who took every single sin we have ever committed and will ever commit in the future when He went to the cross. He lived a perfect life and taught us how to live one. But, even though we don't live perfectly, He continues to love and forgive us. His mercies are new every morning!
Do you get that?
And what about His forgiveness? No human forgiveness could possibly come close. When he forgives us, He doesn't even remember our sin anymore. Psalm 103:12 says, "He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west." And, Isaiah 55:7 says, "Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously." I have experienced this forgiveness firsthand, and the depth of the love, mercy, and grace behind it brings me to tears often.
But it is in His loving discipline that I have really begun to know and recognize Him. As he refines me and rubs off the rough spots, I occasionally see His reflection just a tad bit and wow! He loves me enough to be in me! 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us, "Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body." This was where the rubber began to meet the road for me. Taking up residence in me, He began to change the way I eat, speak, the way I think, how to be generous, and He is still teaching me these things.
The more I get to know God, the more I want everyone to know Him, too, in all of His glory!
Back to that original question: How well do you know God?
Goodnight, Runners.
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