Recently, I went out of town and preached a Gospel meeting. It was so great to reconnect with so many brothers and sisters in Christ who I haven’t seen in a long time. It was great catching up with them.
In addition to reconnecting with people I already knew, I also met a lot of people for the very first time. And, of course, we played the “game” we all play: “Do you know this person that I know?” I’m very bad at this game because I don’t know very many people. And, if I do know the person in question, there is a good chance that I won’t remember that I know them. 😊
But, you know, that game got me thinking about a few things.
One thing I was thinking about is how many different levels of “knowing someone” there really are. On a basic level, you can know a person in that you are aware that they exist. On a deeper level, you can know a person because you have heard of certain things about that person (i.e., their location, occupation, relations, etc.). On a deeper level than that, you can know person because you have met them, maybe more than once; you have that experiential knowledge of them. On an even deeper level, you can know a person on a personal level. You know them because you have spent time with them; you have had conversations with them that are beyond surface-level “small talk;” you know their dreams and their desires. And, on the deepest level, you can know a person on an intimate level because they are dear to you; they have some or complete hold of your heart and you trust them with it. It IS amazing how the statement, “I know that person,” can mean so many different things.
This leads me to the second thing I was thinking about, namely about how people say that they “know the Lord.” Some people will say that they know Him, meaning that they know that He exists (which He most certainly does, see Psalm 19:1-4 and Romans 1:20). However, that is pretty much all that they really know about Him. On a slightly deeper level, when some say that they know Him, they mean that they know certain things about Him. For example, they know that He created the universe (Genesis 1-2), that He flooded the world and put a rainbow in the clouds (Genesis 6-9), that sent Ten Plagues on Egypt and split the Red Sea (Exodus 7-15), that caused a big fish to swallow Jonah (Jonah 1-2), and that He “so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). But, again, that is all they know: things about Him. On a deeper level, when some others say that they know God, they mean that they have “met” Him or “experienced” Him in some way. Admittedly, a lot of people who say that they have “met” or “experienced” “God” haven’t really “met” or “experienced” Him; they just think that they have. But, while they say that, Christians say it in a real sense. Christians can point to the moment of “experience,” that is, when they were baptized as the moment the Lord washed away their sins with His blood (Revelation 1:5; Acts 22:16) and as the moment they received the “gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38; Ephesians 1:13-14). On another level, when some Christians say that they know Him, they mean that they spend personal time with Him in prayer, in Bible Study, and in worship of Him. They “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), “give attention to (Scripture) reading” (1 Timothy 4:13), and “worship [Him] in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). And, finally, on the deepest level, when some Christians say that they know Him, they mean that they know Him on an intimate level. They see and experience His gracious love every day and reciprocate that love back to Him as best as they can (1 John 4:8-10) by carefully and diligently keeping His commandments found in the New Testament (1 John 5:3; 2:3-6). He has a complete hold on their hearts and it shows in every way.
Again, a lot of people know God in one way or another. And, that is why I ask you these questions. ONE, do YOU know God? And, TWO, if you say that you do know Him, then how well do you know Him? On the most basic level? On the most intimate level? Or somewhere in between?
Friends, regardless of how well you know Him right now, I implore you to get to know Him better than you do. Keep growing in your knowledge of Him throughout the rest of your days until you finally meet Him face-to-face in the Judgment Day (see 2 Peter 3)! Let us encourage each other in this noble endeavor. And, may our great God daily help us unto His glory.
With all of that said, if you would like help in growing in your knowledge of our Lord, then please contact one of the members of the Northwest church of Christ. We will be more than capable and happy to help you. And, if you have any other spiritual requests of us, then please let us know. We look forward to hearing from you!
–Curtis Carwile