There is a song in our songbook at the church building entitled “Do You Know My Jesus?” As I was reading through the words of the song, I thought about another related question, “Do we know God?” I think these are incredibly important questions. God is the creator of the universe and will have ultimate say over where we spend eternity, so it makes perfect sense to feel a motivation to know Him. But do we? My guess is that if asked, our friends and neighbors would say “yes” to that question. We SHOULD be able to say yes to that question; however, I wonder if many times people know about God instead of actually knowing Him. There is a huge difference. One time I met the former governor of Texas, exchanged pleasantries and shook his hand… but I can’t say I know him. Likewise, plenty of people know about God, but how many really know Him?
The ancient Hebrew nation thought they knew God. They were God’s chosen people, they were promised and given the land of Canaan where they lived (Joshua 11:23). God gave the Hebrew people His Holy word (the oracles of God, Romans 3:1-2), as well as prophets, priests, judges, and kings to lead them. They were given many prophecies about the Messiah coming to save them. God personally interfaced with Israel like no other nation. Despite these advantages, they ended up not knowing Him. During His ministry Jesus told the Pharisees that, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” (John 8:19) Those people thought they knew God, but it turns out they didn’t, they just knew some things about Him. It can be the same for us today if we are not careful. According to the Apostle Peter, Christians make up the nation of chosen people today (1 Peter 2:9-10), and as such it is imperative that we know God and Jesus Christ, not just know some information about them.
One time I picked up Moby Dick, and although I love adventure and whales, I quickly saw that Melville’s book was very wordy and not an easy read. At this point the temptation was to look around for CliffsNotes, SparkNotes, ChatGPT, or some other way to get a quick synopsis. I wonder if sometimes people treat Christianity like this and miss key information in the effort to take a shortcut. Do you rely on what your ‘religious friend’ has to say? How about your minister, preacher, elder or pastor? Do you listen to a 20 minute sermon, read a blog, or listen to a podcast and think you come away knowing God? Knowing Jesus? The problem with relying upon these trusted experts is that they are humans. Jeremiah 10:23 records, “that a man’s way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.” Jeremiah’s point is that without divine direction, people choose the wrong path. God is perfect, people aren’t, so if we end up following what people say, it may end up going against God.
Consider the following. God has created everything. God has given us our very lives, makes sure that those who put Him first have food/clothing/shelter (Matthew 6:25-34), and even more…God has provided eternally for us as well. God had a plan from the beginning to save man (2 Timothy 1:9; Acts 2:22-23), to answer what to do because of our sin. God also directed prophets, Apostles, and inspired writers to record His will. If we truly want to know God… not just a little about Him, we should open that word which He gave and preserved for us and see what He has to say. When we are seekers and look in all the wrong places, we can get in our own way and not find the truth. If you want to really know God, go to the source, His own words, to seek answers about Him.
Let’s put this in practice. Do you love God? To properly love God we must know Him and then understand what He says about love. Many like the idea of loving God or want to love God in their own way, but we can’t understand what God-approved love actually means until we have read what God says on the subject. God defines love in a way which is often far different than mankind’s idea of it. God shows us how to love by His own actions: He sent us His Son, so that those who believed on Him wouldn’t perish (John 3:16). This is what true love is. Further, Jesus taught that loving Him means that a person will keep His commandments (John 14:15; 16:8-11). This is what it means to love. There is so much more to learn about love from God, but you get the point. Recently a visitor to our community outreach was questioning why we do or don’t do certain things in our worship services. We tried to share with her that it was out of love for God, out of deference and respect to God, that we simply followed closely what He had directed us to do without adding or taking away. If we know God, the God who teaches us about Himself in the Bible, we will understand that He doesn’t change His character (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8). We will know that He disapproves when humans go beyond what is written (scripture) and add or subtract (Deuteronomy 4:2; 1 Corinthians 4:6). We can’t say we love God, and then turn around and do our own thing. If we know the God of the Bible, then we understand that we must love God by doing His thing.
Let us dedicate ourselves to really knowing God as He revealed Himself instead of trying to make Him fit into our notion of who He should be.