Knowing God
“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” (NIV) Jeremiah 24:7
From our theme this month, we are urging ourselves and others to know and walk with God. The word "know" can take on several meanings: having information in mind, a skill (knowing how to do something), understanding (comprehension), personal acquaintance (as with a friend), knowing of someone (as one knows a famous person), intimate insight (as one knows what another would or would not do), sexual relations, knowing by experience (as with an illness), ethical decision (knowing what choice to make). When used in Scripture for the God-man relationship, to "know" God embraces an intimate walk with him and involves the total person. Information alone is not the knowledge of which Scripture speaks when it refers to knowing God.
To "know" God is to allow him to be God and act as he pleases. One who knows God can be assured that God is always right (Job 42:1-6; Isa. 55:8). Knowing him entails "waiting" for him to act (Isa. 30:18). The opposite action is to take matters into one's own hands, question God's actions, and generally disregard him. Knowing God also demands the right attitude of the heart (Jer. 24:7). God will not force anybody to love him. But he invites a loving response to his acts of love. To know God is to defend the cause of the poor and needy. The Scriptures make it clear that to "know" God is to defend the cause of the disadvantaged and the defenseless (James 1:27). To know God is to resist God’s opponents. Those who "know" God will identify with right and stand against evil. Resisting, not compromising, is what distinguishes people who know God and those who do not.
Do you know God? Let the information and experiences we have on God translate into a covenant relationship with God. That is our calling. Amen!