Knowing God

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
                                                  Isaiah 55:8,9 NLT

We are told to seek God.  In Jeremiah 29:13 God promises that if we look for him wholeheartedly we will find him.  But how do we get to know a God who is not like us?

In the beginning humankind was created to be in relationship with God.  But our disobedience opened the door to sin and corrupted the earth.  Our sin created a barrier to reaching God that we could not overcome alone.  Since we were created for relationship with God, our spirits will not rest until we seek and find him.

But God is holy, entirely different, perfect and totally pure.  And we are not.  He lives in a spiritual realm, far beyond our own in every way.  The Father and Holy Spirit are invisible to human eyes.  Since it was impossible for us to find God on our own, God would have to reveal himself to us.  So, the Father sent his Spirit to awaken our spirits and enable us to discern our need for God and to stir in us the desire to be in relationship with our heavenly Father.

The Father realized that in order to have the relationship with us that he desired, he would have to humble himself and come to us.  So, the Father sent his Son Jesus to us in a human body.  Colossians 1:15 says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.” That is how Jesus could tell his disciples if they knew him, they would know the Father.

There was still another barrier to be removed.  God is holy, human disobedience, their sin, had to be removed before humankind could come into contact with their Creator.  The Father’s answer was that his sinless Son Jesus would take on the penalty of sin in his own body for us, so we would be set free from our rebellion and death.  In our union with Christ, we would receive his righteousness, thus enabling us to enter into Father God’s presence and come to know him.

Father God has made the way back to himself so we can fulfill the purpose of our existence, to know God and enjoy him forever.  Since the Father loves us that much.  Enough so that he would send his beloved Son to die in our place. What will our response be?  Will we seek God with all our hearts, so we can know him and be restored to our real identity as his children?

Dear friends, be blessed as you choose to follow Jesus, coming to know him intimately as your Lord, Savior and Friend.  Believe that he is the way for you to enter into the Father’s presence and align with his will. Be blessed to get to know your heavenly Father and receive his love, mercy and grace every day.  May you rejoice in your new identity in Christ as you learn to trust him and receive more and more of his love. Amen.

Mary Sumner ~ February 12, 2024