Knowing God

There has always been a large segment of people who want to "know God better". They may be Christians or they may not. The current ascendant party is "the Nones", the portion that classify themselves as "spiritual but not religious." Then there is the chunk of the "religious" who certainly want to know God better. They'll pursue a variety of methods from prayer to burning candles to self-flagellation if necessary. They'll travel to the Himalayas or seek some spiritual adviser or do all sorts of gyrations to find ways to "know God better". For the vast majority, they are fruitless efforts in the end.

The question for Christians remains "Do you want to know God better?" The answer must be "Yes!" but the method is in question, isn't it? Today, as in times past, many seek some "greater enlightenment", some "higher knowledge". They'll sit in a quiet room with pen and paper in hand waiting for God to speak or follow the latest guru's "experiencing God" program. They'll go on retreats and take up yoga and do all sorts of rituals to seek to know God better. Oddly enough, for most of these Christians these efforts are also fruitless in the long run.

May I make a suggestion? May I recommend a new approach ... that is not new? It might be revolutionary, but consider. We have the Word of God. Perhaps that would be ... I don't know ... a good place to start?

It's interesting when you look at the Word what it says on the subject. Elihu in the Book of Job assured us, "Behold, God is great, and we know Him not" (Job 36:26). Not knowing God seems to be the natural human condition (John 8:54-55). Not hearing the Word of God, in fact, is more probable than the alternative (John 8:47). And yet we have Jesus saying, "I know Him, for I come from Him, and He sent Me" (John 7:29). Now there's a starting place, isn't it? We know from Hebrews that "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world" (Heb 1:1-2). Clear enough. The starting place of knowing God better would be a living, vibrant, real relationship with Christ.

But it's not that difficult to figure out beyond that. Since the Bible is the Word of God, wouldn't it make sense, if your aim is to know God better, to immerse yourself in His Word? Here, imagine this. You have a lover (someone you love, not today's vulgar "sex partner" sense). This lover is removed somehow. Away on a trip or something. So he/she sends you letters. And in your great and abiding passion for him/her, you ... glance over the letters and stash them away. Then you try to figure out how to psychically contact him/her or you enter a program intended to bring you closer to your love or ... Does this make sense? Wouldn't you start by reading these letters, poring over them, memorizing precious parts, examining every word, every nuance, every thought? Wouldn't that be a good start? At least a better start than some deep breathing exercises and a visit to a medium.

Solomon, speaking as "Wisdom", wrote, "Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices. For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them" (Prov 1:29-32). How about you? You have the Word of God in your possession (a commodity you probably don't appreciate as you should). Are you going to allow complacency to destroy you in your search to "know God better"? I can see us pounding on the door of heaven and saying, "God, why didn't you give me more?" God would reply, "But ... I wrote a lot to you. Why didn't you read it?"

The biblical concept of "knowing" isn't simple knowledge. You can get that from a cursory glance of some biblical texts. The biblical concept is intimacy. "Adam knew his wife" (Gen 4:1). It's more than head knowledge. And that doesn't come from cursory Scripture use or from some mystical connections. It comes from immersion. It comes from the renewing of the mind (Rom 12:2). It comes from the washing of the water of the Word (Eph 5:26). It comes from engaging what God has provided in the form of the Scriptures and His Son and the Holy Spirit and seeking diligently in what He has provided to know Him better. Our standard complacency in these matters does not speak well of us. Seeking alternatives does not become us. We have the means to know God better. Let's use it.