Written by Peter Blanch
To know about someone is very different to really knowing that person. When someone says, “I know horses”, do they mean that they “know about” horses, in that they have seen one before, they know that they have four legs and that they can run very fast, or do they mean that they “know” horses by understanding how they behave and how to train them and how a horse will respond given a certain situation? We can use the same word “know” but mean very different things.
Did you know that God made human beings to know him? More than that – knowing God is the very purpose of our lives. It is why we are here on this earth.
Would you be willing to say that you know God?
It is worth asking yourself; do you “know about” God or do you “know” God? Perhaps you can state the gospel message, detect false teaching a mile away. You might be able to explain that we come to know God through Jesus Christ and his Death and Resurrection on our behalf and in our place – you might know all these things about God but in your heart-of-hearts do you really “know” God? Or do you only “know about” him?
Some things are much easier to “know” than others. Knowing a house, its layout and all the light switches is relatively easy. Non-living things like buildings and roads and televisions are much easier to know even than animals. However, human beings – take your next door neighbour for example – really knowing them is much more complicated. You can easily “know about” your next door neighbour [where they live, how tall they, when they were born] but to truly know them is a much more tricky. Getting to know someone requires being in a close relationship with them – to learn about them by understanding how they think, how they work, what makes them happy, what makes them sad. And even if you are in a close relationship withsomeone, the task of really knowing them is further complicated because human beings do not always reveal all that is in their hearts. Some people do not really want to be fully known. So while it may take a couple of months to truly know a horse, you could spend a lifetime with a person and at the end of your days you may still not really “know” them.
Human beings are complex enough to know, but God is even more complex again. We are His creatures, He is our creator. And while God reveals himself to us through his word, and we know He never lies [which makes true knowledge of God possible], He is an infinitely more complex being than us. But the fact remains that God wants to be known by us, to have a close relationship with us. And to that end He has in fact created all human beings with the intention that they come to know Him. The Creator of the Universe wants you to know him – to understand His thoughts, His ways, what makes Him sad, what makes him tick.
Wagga Wagga Evangelical Church is a church that doesn’t want you just to “know about” God. We long for you to really “know” God. It is what you have been made for. God longs for you to really know him. It is this topic that is at the heart of our weekend away this year.
If the title of our weekend away “The Beauty of the Infinite: Behold your God” seems a little cryptic to you, then please understand that truly knowing God is what this weekend away is all about. There could hardly be a more important topic.
And this very important topic will change your life. Truly knowing God is what your life is about. Truly knowing God is what Eternal Life is about – for Jesus himself says: “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” [John 17:3]. Truly knowing God will change the way you live. Truly knowing God, and being known by Him, is the very reason why we are here.
Can I encourage you to get along to our weekend away this year. There is an information brochure with a registration form in the outline, and you can register at the back of church today.
Peter Blanch
