Know Thy God

“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” 1 Chronicles 28:9

Words of wisdom from David to his son Solomon. This verse brings a thought that I  have been considering a lot recently. Two things that go together. Knowing God, and personal responsibility.

David’s encouragement is for Solomon to personally know God. As parents, we can introduce our children to God,  and give them a good knowledge of God, but there comes a time when they will have to know Him for themselves and because they want to know Him.

Every one of us must take personal responsibility for our interest and desire to know God. And this is  where it gets good. Each person can and should have a personal relationship with God in which they can get to know Him. Not just know about Him, but a deep, personal knowledge.

And, lest someone think that it is not possible to know the living God, creator of the universe, consider these verses: “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:24 – “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” Jeremiah 24:7

God wants us to know him. He wants to make Himself known. This is so amazing. What are we waiting for? This is better than anything else that we could find. It should be our number one priority.

Sadly, many of God’s people seem completely uninterested in knowing their God. Maybe they like the idea of their salvation, but that is as far as they go. Not Paul. He made it his top priority to know his Lord better. “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” Philippians 3:8

So, what do you want? Do you want to know the amazing God of all creation? The God who showed His grace and mercy in sending His Son to die for us? Do you want to know how God feels about you? There is so much to know, but I cannot do that for you and you cannot do it for me. We must each know our God for ourself.

Gordon Crook