God, Who Are You?

I have lived in Broussard for thirty years. Last week I saw parts of the area I was not aware existed. I thought I knew Broussard. I don’t.

I realized that for thirty years I have lived in the same neighborhood, taken the same routes to the same places and missed by blocks a great variety of people and places.

Indictment 2: Ignorance of God

God is a lot more complex than Broussard. My knowledge of Him is based on limited study and experience. How dare I claim to know Him? How dare I discount the knowledge of others? Even if I am His child I will spend eternity exploring and coming to know the vastness of Him. I should start now.

How can I know God?

The challenge of knowing God can be overwhelming and can discourage us from trying. We have to start where we are. We can learn of God like we learn of anything or anyone else.

Read about Him.

The beginning of our problem is Indictment 1. Ignorance of Scripture. If I want to know about some person, even if I have never met him, the starting point is to devour everything written about Him. I start, however, with the best writings. If there is an autobiography, wouldn’t I start with that. The Bible is the autobiography of God as personified in His Son Jesus. Wouldn’t I start with that and not even glance at any other writing until I had completely absorbed this primary source?

Talk about Him.

If I have a hero, don’t I gather with those who are like-minded? Don’t I share stories about the object of our admiration? Don’t I delight in sharing experiences?

Explore His works.

God has made things and done things, frankly ever thing. We can learn about Him by exploring and appreciating the things he has made, the works of His hand.

Spend Time with Him. 

The ultimate getting-to-know is spending time. We would never miss the opportunity to spend time with someone we admire. Why do we shy away from spending time with God? I understand He is spirit and we can’t see or touch Him. However, He is ever where. He is always available. He desires time with us. How can we turn down this greatest of opportunities?

It’s one thing to miss out on parts of the community in which we live or to not fully know people we admire and love. The consequences of having a distorted knowledge of God are eternal. We can’t afford to limit our knowledge. It’s dangerous to limit our knowledge of Him to the aspects we are comfortable with. We are joyous that God is love. However, we can’t forget that He is also holy and just.

As the people of God we have a responsibility to know Him as completely as is possible so that our sharing of Him will be as accurate and as powerful as it can be. It’s the reason we are here.