Know Him for Life

Think about it. How would you naturally respond to an unexpected visitor declaring he'd like to speak with one of your household members? The basic determinant of your response almost always rests on weather you know the visitor. So, do you know God? Would you kindly let Him in or rather adversely close the door in His face due to your vague but true reluctance to accommodate an unfamiliar face, even though you are well aware of His obvious eminence or perhaps, especially because of His known importance? Your next question should look somewhat like this: How can I recognize if I really know Him?

Scripture shows us how to realize the status of our association with Him. In John 14:7 Jesus speaks, "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." Philip, His disciple, replied, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us" (John 14:8). Then Jesus said, "have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'show us the Father'" (John 14:9)? By this, Jesus is distinguishing His self as the full persona of God. Yet, Philip can't seem to get past his natural dependence on material evidence. He assumes a position that we all often take, which is that we expect to physically see what we are lead to believe. Jesus assists Philip by plainly stating, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." Jesus is pointing the fact that righteousness doesn't necessarily come dressed in a shimmering gift box, or body. God represents through a spirit of holiness not usually viewed by the eyes' pupils, but rather through eyes of the soul, or spirit (kinda like the age ol' saying, an eye for an eye; however, differing in terms of meaning, lol.. We can look at it and say this way, spirit sees spirit and bodies see only bodies.) So, how might you or I become better adjusted to see through eyes of spirit, thus establish familiarity with God?

Place your foot in the door. Assume an entry-level mind set. Look to what you know instead of immersing your self deep into an area that you don't know. In doing, you will lessen any chance of confusion, frustration, and eventual renunciation of your superb quest. Therefore, first examine the natural environment. What's the one most respected natural source of spiritual information? The observable books of the Christian Bible, right? Exactly. It is as such, by scientific fact. Therefore, read the Bible.

In reading the Holy Bible, you can begin to sprout new wisdom. Yes, wisdom. The Bible comprises exactly what we need to become familiar with God, because God is the author. Jesus, the Son of God, becomes the light of enlightenment and your best friend as you delve into the gospels of Christ. There is nothing else like it! You will begin to understand God as Spirit and will, your self, emerge as a seeing spirit. Moreover, you will start to desire an inner dwelling of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promises the Father will provide if you just ask. Once encompassed by the Spirit, you will experience an intimate relationship with God like you've never imagined possible. You will start to hear His soft, loving voice deep within your soul and know it is Him. That is when you know that you know...that you know...God. Jesus said in John 10:27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." How would we ever know that unless we read what is written in the Bible?

You see, just as God recognized our humanistic need for a tangible source of insight in the time of Jesus, God also recognizes that same need today. When God took human form in Jesus, and Jesus illustrated God's self inhabitants to the disciples, it was as if God announced that here He came to us in a comprehensible manner to satisfy and enable us to believe in that which is unseen. He knew we needed a natural source to lead us to the spiritual waters. He knew we were at such a lowly level of spiritual understanding that we needed His natural existence to walk us to the well of awareness. Today, God's holy presence remains with us in the natural through the Christian Bible. The scriptures provide a tangible source of spiritual teachings, which come directly from God through inspired words of knowledge. In it, Jesus speaks to you and me just as He spoke to the disciples of His time. It's the most marvelous piece of writing ever produced! Go now, find what you are missing in Him, so when He comes to YOUR door, you won't be surprised and shut him out like an unwelcome stranger. That would be the worst mistake of your life!

If an individual overlooks the Holy Scripture, he/she dismisses the meaning of life. Similarly, you cannot live your life purposefully without it, and without it, one day, you will die.

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