The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Known"
Scripture teaches that while God cannot be presently seen, heard, or touched, He can be known.
This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent" (John 17:3).
While the Christian can explain in simple and understandable terms how one enters into relationship and fellowship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, he cannot fully put into words what it means to know our Heavenly Father. This is precisely what we would expect regarding the spiritual nature of God, and of ourselves.
"God is a Spirit" (John 4:24).
"That which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6).
To say that we know God certainly means we believe the truth of His saving and illuminating grace and truth in Christ. It means more, however, much more. "The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16). The same is true in our human relationships. To know another person well means far more than merely seeing, hearing, and touching them. There is somebody in the body of our family member or friend whom we know to be more than merely atoms and matter. If I say I know my wife, I mean far more than merely mental, emotional, and physical knowledge. Close relationship transcends the outward and the tangible. This reflects the believer's fellowship with God, wherein He knows us, we know Him, and the bond of Heart to heart cannot be fully explained.
Learning God's truth helps us to know Him, and to know Him better. However, factual knowledge remains different from relational knowledge, as the Apostle John confirms:
"We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (I John 5:20; emphasis added).
God will never be satisfied by our merely knowing about Him. Nor will we. The Lord Jesus died to usher us into living and loving fellowship with our Heavenly Father, as revealed in us through the Holy Spirit, and illuminated and confirmed by the Scriptures. Thus, we must believe that such communion is possible, and ask our Lord to make it more actual and realized in our walk with Him. What will this mean in each of our lives? Again, explanation of such reality is not completely available. The trusting and devoted believer knows, however. He knows. More importantly, God knows, and works to ever lead us in the fellowship of love for which Christ died, rose again, and sent the Holy Spirit to usher us into the wonder of "this is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent."
"I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened."
(Ephesians 1:15-18).
Weekly Memory Verse
"Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing."
(Job 12:9-10)
6184
No comments:
Post a Comment