Christians enjoy an eternal and abundant life – eternity, begins when you accept the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior. At that moment, we get to know God who is so loving and willing to die for unworthy sinners like us. He is willing to lead us out of the darkness in life and from the bondage of the evil devil, to enter into God’s light, freedom and peace of His kingdom. At that moment, perhaps we also recognize that God is holy and righteous, by His standards. We are totally filthy and deserving of the most severe punishment. At that moment, perhaps we will also recognize that God is almighty, capable of overcoming death and disrupting the forces of evil, and giving humans a new lease of life. Knowing God, knowing the Lord Jesus opens a new chapter in life for us and our lives will no longer be the same!
Our understanding of God and our Lord is similar to having the chance to make best friends in some ways. Behind every deep friendship is a long period of time of understanding and accepting each other. We know each other’s character, interests, working style, habits, strengths, etc. Sometimes, after going through trials, our friendship is strengthened because trials allow us to see the true side of each other. We can also feel the sincerity and concern from our friend. Most importantly, a true friendship will not come to a standstill. Rather, it requires time and effort. The question is, is our relationship with the Lord the same? From the day you believe in the Lord till today, do you have a better understanding of Him? Or is He a friend you turn to only when you are in need or do you think of Him only on Sundays?
According to Paul the Apostle: “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better” (Ephesians 1:15-17). After the believers believe in the Lord, Paul besides thanking God for them, also prayed to God that they would know more about Him. Shouldn’t believing in the Lord and getting a passport to heaven suffice? Why do we need to know more about God? Paul says in the following text, “that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way” (Ephesians 1:18-23).
In other words, only after knowing more about God can we fully understand the truth about Christianity. We can truly experience an abundant life. Knowing God is not only about believing in Him and receiving eternal life. That is only the beginning. Knowing God includes how much we understand about the Bible and how familiar we are with His word. Through God’s word, we learn about His nature, attributes, how He gets along with people, the principles He has blessed us with, how He wants us to get along with others and how He loves us.
Knowing God also includes living out biblical principles, experiencing that God is indeed true and living, and that there is no contradiction between our experience of God and His revelation in the Bible. Knowing God requires you to use your entire life to experience Him. Let’s not be complacent.