“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
John 17:3
There is no blessing as great as having a personal relationship with the living and true God of the Bible. “Thus saith the LORD,” declared the great prophet Jeremiah, “let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). According to the prophet, all the things the western world finds so important, so-called wisdom, might, and wealth, are nothing compared to knowing God. Knowing Him puts all else into the shadows by comparison. Knowing Him just is life eternal. It is absolutely vital, therefore, that we recognize and appreciate the vast difference between knowing about a particular person and knowing that person. A careful researcher may know 100 times as much about me than my next door neighbor. Nevertheless, my neighbor, who may know far less about me, can state with confidence that he knows me whereas the researcher cannot. Similarly, many brilliant theologians have memorized hundreds of theological facts about God, but this by itself is no indication that they actually know God. Actually knowing God is what’s important, and one needn’t have a degree from an institution of higher learning for that. In fact, in the evil days in which we live, it would more than likely be a hindrance, not a help, to our faith. This is because the great trend in the history and development of religion—even within the Christian religion—is to make God more and more an abstraction, an idea adopted by the mind. In the short term, this is comforting to those whose lifestyles are not in line with God’s moral prescriptions. God for them is not that concerned with us and how we choose to live our lives. The problem of course is that this is not at all how God discloses Himself in the Bible. God is personal (in fact He is Tri-Personal). He has intellect, emotion, morality, and a definite opinion on things. The God of the Bible is one who speaks to His image-bearers. He does so directly in their hearts and in the created order (Romans 1). He does so in His special revelation, the Bible, and in the Person of His Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). He is not only aware of each of us and every detail of our lives (Matthew 10:29-31), He loves and cares for us deeply (1 Peter 5:7). May we be consciously aware of our great personal God today, seeking His direction and ordering our conduct aright in His eyes.
God bless,
Pastor John
English