October 22, 2010

I Want to Know You

Psalm 63:1-8

Live a life worthy of the Lord … growing in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:10

— 

How many people do you know—really know? Three? Five? Ten? What does it mean to really know someone? It means at least that we know what they like and dislike, what they value, what their priorities and goals are. We know what they would say or do in this or that situation.

What does it take to get to know someone? To begin with, they must want us to know them. That is, they must be willing to tell us what they are really thinking and feeling. And we must want to know them.

Does God want us to know him? He does! “Let those who boast boast about this: that they understand and know me …” (Jeremiah 9:24). Has God told us things about himself? Read Exodus 34:6-7; Isaiah 43:1-4; Isaiah 58:6-9; John 3:16; and 1 John 4:7-19—and write down what God is like.

But do we really want to know God? The writer of Psalm 63 doesn’t say that he wants things from God or that he wants to know about God. The psalmist wants God: “Earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you.”

We are encouraged to ask God for things we need, but we are also given the greater privilege of knowing, really knowing, God.

God wants us to know him. How much do we really want to know him?

Gracious God, I want to know you better. Help me to seek you with my whole being. Tell me again today who you are so that I may love you more. Amen.

About the author — Harvey Stob

Rev. Harvey Stob and his wife, Audrey, served as missionaries in Argentina for eleven years. They then served churches in Cincinnati, Ohio; Ridgewood, New Jersey; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. Harvey retired from full-time pastoral work in 2009. He and Audrey have three children and seven grandchildren.

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