Identity - Knowing God 3

Katie, one of my basketball players while at Bryan College.

The Bible challenges us to “KNOW GOD.” However we saw in yesterday’s post that He is unknowable and indescribable. Let’s see if we can wade through this seeming dilemma beginning with an examination of our “feltness" picture of God. (Not what you know but how you feel about God). Do any of the following apply to your perception of God?

* Santa God: “making a list and checking it twice…”
*Corporate CEO: , climb the ladder, but always one more rung
*Scrooge: “you owe me”
*Grandfather: “Do what you like, be happy, no consequences, ask for anything
*Uncaring stepdad: uninterested, uninvolved
*General Patton: “I don’t care how you feel, just do as I say”

It may be helpful to write your response and also write how you’d like to see your perception of God change. Be thinking and praying about it, asking Him to show you misperceptions and to begin to give you a clearer vision of who He really is.

An understanding of the word “know” might be helpful here. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for know is yada. It denotes an intimate acquaintance with someone. A personal relationship is implied between an individual and the object. This could be a spiritual relationship between worshipper and deity. It could be a social relationship between two people. Or it could be a sexual relationship between husband and wife.

In the New Testament the word for “know” is “Ginosko.” Vine’s Expository Dictionary defines it as a relation between the person knowing and the object known. The focus is often a progression of knowledge, rather than a complete knowledge. A knowing that is ever growing. A relationship ever deepening in intimacy, like a good marriage: 2 people growing in knowledge and love for each other.

Think about one of the most meaningful relationships you’ve ever experienced – may be a boy/girl friend, a spouse, a close friend. How was that relationship nurtured? Walk through the steps in building that relationship and see how that format could apply to you knowing God more intimately.

More in tomorrow's post on Knowing God as our Source for security.