What does it mean to ‘know’ someone? And how can we know the motivations of someone if we can’t read their mind?
You can see someone from a distance and say to yourself; “I know that person over there”, but do you really know them? And although many claim to know Jesus, what does that really mean, and how can we know to what extent it is true?
It is difficult to know a human, because humans tend to let the things of the world distort and mask the true self. You can be close to someone for a lifetime and never really know who that person is.
On the other hand, God has made himself an open book for you to see and understand completely. His hope is that you will accept him for what he really is, and embrace the things that make him the God of all creation. This begins by accepting his laws and demands, and believing that the Bible is ‘his’ Bible, and he has upheld its meanings and truths, and will continue doing so forever.
Also he wishes that you could understand the endurance of his love for you, and the longing of his heart, and the yearning for the heart of every single one of us to come to him, and ‘know’ him. To know God is different than knowing other humans. God is willing to show himself to you in a way that no human can. Just look at it this way, what does God have to hide? Why would God hide himself from you? You are no threat to God. God has nothing to be ashamed of, where on the other hand, humans are guilty of everything wrong. And even though we don’t know him, he knows us in ways that cannot be characterized. And we cannot know ourselves like God knows us.
Throughout the world there are 131.4 million births each year. 15,000 births each hour and God ‘knows’ each and everyone of them before they are born. He loves all of them and you, just the same. Also there are 55.3 million people who die each year, and 6,316 each hour. And God loves the dying just as much as he loves the newly conceived
So why does all this matter? Sometimes it just seems like the very same people who claim to love Jesus don’t even know who he really is.
There are 7 billion people alive today, and 107 billion have lived and are now dead. And when you combine these numbers with the new souls being born every hour, you begin to see the astonishing power that it would take jut to know all of these children of God, let alone, ‘love them all’!
For most of us, we struggle with our ability to love just one person.. Just think of the logistics of remembering all their names, not to mention their every moment of life.
John 17-3 says; “and this is the way to have eternal life - by ‘knowing’ you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth”!
For what it is worth, it is clear to me that if you ‘know’ God, you will love him. And if you love him, you will believe him. And if you believe him, you will love others by sharing his truth and defending his truth with your very life. And by having faith that shows itself to others you will have, not only brought salvation to yourself, you will be compelled to do the same for others.
John 17-20 says; “I am not praying for these alone, but also for the future believers who will come to me because of the testimony of these. The world cries out for inclusion, but only for the inclusion of the things and people they want included. Because of this, they have taken up the role of God by attempting to make their own rules. God makes these choices and the world will be forced to stand silent in front of the Almighty God of all laws and rules.
Their voice will be heard, but not adhered to by anyone who has faith. And God will destroy them for their insolence and worship of their own ideas. But are they really their own ideas? Of course not. Their minds have been poisoned with the will of the evil ones. They are completely fooled by Satan, but they are to arrogant to even entertain the idea that they are not speaking for themselves.
It is a sad story of millions of people who don’t know God but know Satan quite well. And they know Satan because he is in them and they are in him.
John 17:21 says; “My prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind, just as you and I are, Father - that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me”.
On one hand we have the ugliest of lies, and on the other hand, we have a different kind of beautiful. The ugliest lie is that we cannot ‘know’ God in a very personal way. And the most beautiful of truths is that we can know him in the most intimate of ways. All you must do is to ask for his Holy Spirit. Just remember; the Holy Spirit will not compete for a position of honor. The Holy Spirit will not occupy shared space with evil. The Holy Spirit will not ‘hang out’ with liars and the Holy Spirit will not reside with a stranger. Get to know them, you might fall in love.