...or rather be known by Him

I love getting to know God. I love learning about Him and I love growing in my relationship with Him. As I said in my previous post, Jesus said that this is eternal life: that we know God.

But have you ever found that the more you learn about God, and the more you grow in your relationship with Him, the more you realize how little you actually know Him, and about Him? :-) Each opened door seems to open up so many more doors with so much more to explore!

That shouldn't stop us from seeking Him and desiring to learn more about Him, and knowing Him more intimately. But in one little Bible verse, Paul opens us up to a completely different perspective that you don't often hear about, but that I believe is grounded fully in what the gospel is all about, and is vastly covered in the "love letter" that is the Bible. It's a short phrase that could very easily be missed, but when its reality sets in it could be of great help to us in understanding that there's far more to our relationship with God than us knowing Him.

Paul writes: "But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God..." (Gal 4:9a)

My own paraphrase: "Sure, you know God now, by faith. But what it's really all about is that God knows you!"

God's love letter has always attested to this truth:

Isa 43:1
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.

Ps 139:1-16
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up;
You understand my thought afar off.
3 You comprehend my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue,
But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
5 You have hedged me behind and before,
And laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is high, I cannot attain it.
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend into heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the morning,
And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand shall lead me,
And Your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness shall fall on me,"
Even the night shall be light about me;
12 Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You,
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to You.
13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother's womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.


We are known by God! I chose just a couple of the many scriptures that reassure us that we are known by God... fully & completely... and that it's a good thing! Many live in fear, and avoid the thought that God knows them, because of all the "bad" things they know they've done. But God knows us in such a way that He rejoices over us (Isaiah 62:5), He sings over us (Zephaniah 3:17). He knows us intimately and LOVES US DEEPLY! There is nothing about us that is hidden from God. We are fully exposed to God. And since He has placed us in His Son Jesus, by faith, He is very pleased by what He knows about us and that He knows us!

That I may know Him...

A friend and I are teaching a class at our church entitled "Who Are You - Identity Revealed."

Someone asked me the other day if this class is similar to the "Purpose Driven Life." I really hadn't thought of it that way. The reason for that is... it has nothing to do with being driven in this life by purpose. :)

As you can probably tell by the title, our class is about God's grace, and our identity in Christ, which are inseparable. Knowing our identity is crucial to what we "do" in this life. I know... I know... it's true. So many of us looooong for purpose. We think we'll be fulfilled if we can find our purpose in this life, and then live out our purpose. And it's true that God has given each of us "purpose." Each 'member' of the body of Christ has a purpose within the body (see Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12).

But what if you're going along your day one day, and you don't really feel like you're living out the purpose that you feel that God's given you within the Body? What if this lasts for more than a day? A week? A year? Or more???? Have you ceased to be a member of the Body of Christ? Of course not! Has God forgotten about you? NOOOO!!

Is it possible that you can live your life in Christ without regards to PURPOSE?

I believe so.

And that's because I believe the purpose of our lives are not to have purpose... but to know God.

Again... we all have purpose within the Body. But I don't believe that our day to day lives are meant to be driven by purpose.

Can't we just...

KNOW Him?

In your relationships with people... Do you feel you have to have purpose at every moment? Can't you just be friends, and know each other, and love each other - with no particular agenda?

True... in your relationships you like to DO things with people. Many times there is a particular purpose for you to spend time together. But one of the great things about true, close friends, is that they often don't need to find a purpose in everything they do. Maybe you've just gotten old. I don't mean your age, but your way of thinking. In order to be "mature," you've got to have a reason (a purpose) for everything you do. But think back to your childhood friendships. You didn't always get together because you had some wonderful purpose in mind for your time together.

Ok, I think I've made my point. :)

I think I have a special "part" within the Body of Christ. I think we all do (see previously mentioned scriptures). He lives and moves in us, and we have our entire being in Him... and sometimes that means an obvious expression and movement of the 'body part' that we are. As He works in us, our "purpose" is fulfilled.

But yet the essence of our lives is not purpose. The essence of our lives is that we know Him. The apostle Paul had counted all things as LOSS, including his Jewish heritage and status, his godly zeal, his righteousness, and I think even his own perceived purpose in this life... "that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings..." (Phil 3:10).

When defining Eternal Life, Jesus didn't speak of us finding our "purpose in life." He said, while praying to the Father, "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."

We all have desires... we long for purpose in this life. I don't think there's anything wrong with seeking God to fulfill His purposes in us. But there is something so much greater... something that in our day to day life supersedes, and is so much more important that purpose. It's "that I may know Him."

Again, the question...

Can't we just KNOW Him???