Knowing God

December 29, 2017

When someone repeats something over and over, it might just be important to him. Linda often has to remind me to make phone calls or write notes to people. Sometimes she asks, “Do you want me to remind you of this?” Because my memory can be pretty spotty, most of the time, I say yes. Only occasionally do her reminders feel like nagging, but when that happens, it’s probably because I needed nagging. She repeatedly reminds me when it’s important. 

Lately, I’ve been reading through Ezekiel. I’ve read about his visions of wheels within wheels (which some have thought to be descriptions of flying saucers), noted his odd behavior, lying on one side for months on end, going mute, failing to mourn over the death of his wife. For those whose marriages might make them think the latter incident to be perfectly normal, Ezekiel noted his affectionate love for her. I haven’t yet gotten to his vision of the valley of dry bones, but it’s coming pretty soon. What I have noticed is how often God pronounces some catastrophe on Israel, Egypt, Assyria, or any number of the nations that existed in the Middle East back then. When such catastrophe is pronounced, it is often accompanied with the words, “then they shall know that I am the LORD.” I haven’t counted the times this phrase occurs, but it is sprinkled all through the book, and leads me to believe God thinks it is important that people know him. 

It’s not just a matter of obedience, as important as that may be. God wants us to know him, which makes me wonder what exactly, does that mean? How do we know someone? Well, we spend time with them, listen to what they say, listen to their heart, watch what they do. All of this are ways we can know God. But there is one element missing. I spend time with Linda, I try to listen to her, I watch what she does, how she responds to situations. All of this helps me know her, but unless she chooses to reveal herself to me, all the stuff I do can only scratch the surface. 

God wants us to know him. It’s impossible if we fail to spend time with him, listening to him as he speaks through Scripture, or if we fail to see how he handled situations that are recorded in Scripture. If we fail to pray, it will be hard to know him. But above it all, if God chooses not to reveal himself, all our efforts will come up empty. The Good News is that he has revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ, and continues to do so through the agency of the Holy Spirit as he interprets Scripture to us, and reveals his work and presence in daily life. Tonight, I am thankful that God wants us to know him, and that he has made it possible. We don’t have to go through life wondering. We can know. And knowing God changes everything.