I feel like the most dangerous and destructive problem in our churches and among people who claim to be Christians today is – many do not TRULY know God. In Jeremiah 9:24, we read: “…let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD” If you ask the vast majority of people in the world today who claim to believe in God, they would say “God is a god of LOVE!” And that is true. He is a God of love – He loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us. BUT – notice he is ALSO a God of justice! He punishes sin and evil. He HATES sin and evil and ANYTHING contrary to HIS perfect will. AND – He is a God of Righteousness. He DELIGHTS in those who follow Him and OBEY His commandments.
Note that the verse says boast in the fact that we UNDERSTAND and know God. Not just that we KNOW Him…but that we UNDERSTAND Him. Now, there are many things about God which we cannot or ever will understand, but there is SO MUCH we CAN understand about Him by reading His Word, drawing closer to Him, and TRULY letting HIM have control of our lives.
God had a problem with the nation of Israel “For my people are foolish; they know me not;
they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.” (Jeremiah 4:22) And, it seems like the same thing is true today – we as Christians are all to knowledgeable in how to do wrong, but how to do RIGHT, we don’t see as important.
Johnathan Wesley once said “Give me 100 men who hate nothing but sin and love God with all their hearts and I will shake the world for Christ!” Only when we hate sin so much that we want ABSOLUTELY NO PART in it, and we love God so much that we desire Him with ALL OF OUR HEART can we truly begin to know God. Proverbs 1:7 reminds us: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” When we understand God for Who He REALLY is….the Creator of EVERYTHING, Master, Lord, Sovereign, Commander…ALMIGHTY GOD, and we fear even the lingering THOUGHT of displeasing Him, can we TRULY KNOW GOD!