know
Did you know that you are made to know?
Each person was created to want to know “a Truth that is most lovable”, the First Cause and the End. It is actually why we were created...it is our “telos” our mission in life, our chief end goal...God. Inside each of us is a “God compass” and it points North. We are not neutral beings as our secular world states--no, we are made by God and intended to know Him as we are fully known.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states this (50): “By natural reason man can know God with certainty, on the basis of his works. But there is another order of knowledge, which man cannot possibly arrive at by his own powers: the order of divine Revelation. Through an utterly free decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. This he does by revealing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by sending us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.”
But because God is, well, God, the very idea of getting to know Him personally can at times, feel daunting and even scary. Our minds and hearts can foolishly become convinced that God is too great or too “other” to get to know, and that we are too insignificant for such things. But this is not what His word states. This is not the story of Salvation History nor the story of my own life. God placed inside of me a desire to read His word daily when I was only twelve, and by His grace, I have done so faithfully for over fourty years (missing out only a handful of times). I can say, with no hesitation, that this one practice has made the single, largest impact on my life.
We see throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, a “knowable” and personal God.
Again and again we find Him reaching out to man:
Walking in the cool of the garden with Adam and Eve, Genesis 3:8
Speaking with Moses face to face, “as a man speaks with his friend”, Exodus 33:11
Accompanying the Israelite armies into battle, Deuteronomy 20:1-4
Comforting David through the words of the Prophet, 2 Samuel 7:9
Then, in the New Testament, God becomes man and walks among us in the form of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 1:1-3 states this: “In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe, who is the refulgence of his glory, the very imprint of his being, and who sustains all things by his mighty word.”
St. Augustine states that our hearts are restless until they find rest in God, and I would add, our minds are as well. So--do you hunger for more? Do you want to know God?
Great news! You can!
God Himself has placed within us this hope, this desire to know Him. And, thankfully, He actually enables it to happen. If you want to get to know God the Father, get to know His Son, Jesus Christ as He is the “very imprint” of the Father.
2018 Goal: get to know God better (because 2019 will be here before you know it!)
Top 5 ideas for how to get to know God:
By getting to know His Holy Word. Click here to READ through the Bible in one year or LISTEN to the Bible in one year read by my friend and acclaimed actor Max McLean.
By going on an ALPHA course -- find one here.
By joining a Bible Study. Click here to find a women’s Walking with Purpose near you.
By reading great spiritual books. Click here for a spectacular list.
By taking a class at the Augustine Institute. Click here to find out more.
God longs for you to know Him (better). Get started...today.
“‘“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.”’” Revelation 3:20
Dear Lord,
I want to know You better this year. I ask for the grace to be able to do this. Please give me a deeper desire for not only a knowledge of You, but for You personally. Please set my heart and mind ablaze for You.
I ask this in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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