Do you know the real Self of our heavenly father? Because of Jesus, you are free to get to know God personally. Don’t miss this opportunity. Pray all your excuses to disappear. Pray that you will have an urge to spend more time with God. There’s nothing quite like it than be on a first name basis with God Almighty!

With the words of J.I. Packer “What makes life worthwhile is having a big enough objective, something which catches our imagination and lays hold of our allegiance, and this the Christian has in a way that no other person has. For what higher, more exalted, and more compelling goal can there be than to know God?”

This is what Jesus’ prayer reveals about knowing God: And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent. (John 17:3, AMP,*)

We – as children of God – are called to know, to recognize, to become acquainted with, and understand God. This is not a superficial way to know of God but to intimately know the heart of God. Priceless in my book. Because God is the only true, real and living God. His true and real heart loves all the people and has gone to great lengths to get us to know him personally.

God’s offer sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? But it isn’t. It’s a real, valid, and honest to goodness offer. And it works. God does embrace us with his love and grace whenever we come to him. Love is the true self of God and he wants to extend it towards everyone.

The deal does not even end there. God also wants us to become closely acquainted with him. He wants us to be best friends with him. That is quite incredible. But true nonetheless.

J.I. Packer puts it this way: “There is no peace like the peace of those whose minds are possessed with full assurance that they have known God, and God has known them, and that this relationship guarantees God’s favor to them in life, through death and on for ever.”

Knowing God on a first name basis is the best there is. God has created you and loves you and wants to hear from you. But he also wants to be known. God wants you to explore how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.

Nothing better, friends. Nothing better.

 

Gracious God,
Forgive us for not taking you on your offer.
Forgive us for thinking it can’t be true.
Your love is truly amazing.
We receive it with open arms.
We want to know you intimately.
Take all our excuses away.
Create hunger for you and
fill us with you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Do you know God intimately?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you keep on becoming better acquainted with God!

* [As you might have noticed, I enjoy reading the Bible in different translations and love comparing them. I have started linking the Bible verses to Biblegateway.com so you can easily read (and compare) them in the different versions I’ve used while preparing each post.]

Image courtesy of Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Faith-filled Fridays, Five Minute Friday, and Faith Barista.