KNOWING GOD

[John]

Much of my Christian life my walk was dependent upon others. I used
others to think for me, make decisions for me, and tell me what to
believe. It was a comfortable time in my life, one bereft of
responsibility, endless days of happy-go-lucky childhood.

Since it was "all about me" I never truly had a relationship with God--
not directly anyway. My relationship with Him was often filtered
through others. My priorities were wrong--instead of loving Him first
and allowing that to translate in love toward others, I found it much
easier to love others and interpret that as love for Him. Never did I
rise to: "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute you." Matthew 5:44

All of my life I had been good at PRETENDING I knew and loved God.
Something that often made me feel worse than better. It didn't take
much to figure out that in order to love God I had to get to know
Him. Something I had either been too busy, or undisciplined or even
disinterested in all of my life.

Here is a post from the Bereans, July 3, 2006:

Many people wonder how one can love someone they have never seen, met
or talked to. How can one love God having never met Him?

I once discussed my relationship with Jesus with a friend, trying to
explain the love I felt for him. I gave the following example:

When reading through the "Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkein one
develops a relationship with its main character, Frodo Baggins. Frodo
endures so much, faces so much and triumphs over so much in this
tremendously imaginative tale, that by the time the reader finishes
the story one cannot help but love Frodo...and he isn't even real.

God has given us his Word. It is our interface with Him-our
connection. When reading through the Word one begins to love the man
who gave the blind man sight, stumbled under the cross and triumphed
over death.

Want to love God? The first step is getting to know him.

1Timothy 4:13 (a) Till I come, give attendance to reading

Tomorrow:

Ecclesiastes 1:18 For in much wisdom [is] much grief: and he that
increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.