To Know Him

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;”

Philippians 3:10 (emphasis mine)

What does it mean to know Him?

That word  - know - in the Greek means to be aware; feel; perceive; consider; be sure of; understand; to have knowledge of.

The dictionary definition of the word know is to perceive directly with the senses or mind; be aware of as true; to have firmly secured in the mind or memory; possessing special or confidential information.

And the word knowledge means familiarity; awareness or understanding gained through experience or study.

"And hereby we do know that we know him; if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:  hereby know we that we are in him."
I John 2:3-5 (emphasis mine)

I was recently in a gathering of Christians and a former pastor friend of mine shared an experience he had recently had. He was in a in a church and there were banners on the walls of the sanctuary in front of him. On the left, the banner said “To Know Him” and on the right the banner said “To Make Him Known.” As he reflected on the banner on the left, he said, “Lord, I forgot that.”

Lord, I forgot that the greatest purpose of my life is to know you!

Not to serve you.

Not to serve others.

Not to learn the Greek and Hebrew.

Not to know how to exegis Scripture.

Not to preach the great sermon.

Not to do “church.”

But just - to know you!

It is so easy to forget that.

 

It is so easy for us to get so caught up in serving God, that we forget to just be with God. 

We forget to spend time with him to get to know Him, to know His heart, to know and understand His love.

 

We can also get so caught up in doctrinal studies, in disputing our particular opinions, in making our point, in trying to sway someone to our "side" that we forget to love, which is the very test of our knowing.

 

"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.  He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."

I John 4:7, 8 (emphasis mine)

 

We could spend from now through eternity doing nothing but seeking to know Him and it would be a full time job!  It would be a study that would never end.

 

It is - and should be - the focus of our walk - to know Him - and as we grow in our knowledge of Him, the natural by-product of that will be to make Him known.

 

Just hearing this friend of mine share his experience became a challenge to me - to renew my quest, a never-ending quest - to know Him.  To know Him as my God and my Savior; to know Him as my Father, my Friend, my Comforter, my Guide and my King.

 

He's all that and so much more!

 

Seek to know Him!