Ron's Insights 2013

FaithWalk: Knowing God
by Ron Susek
©Golden Quill Publications

      Do you know God, or do you only know things about Him? Let me explain what I mean by posing this question: Do you know my wife?

      My wife, Diane, is 5'6" tall, has dark hair (kept so with a little help), with strikingly beautiful features including large, expressive eyes. Her gregarious personality is quite entertaining. She feels intensely, is sunny and bright, occasionally stormy, winsome, interactive and caring.

      Do you think you know my wife? Let me proceed.

      She has grown intensely spiritual over the years with an inquisitive mind that tests what she learns. She is brilliant, opinionated and expressive.

      Do you know her yet?

      Diane despises hunting because of a profound love for animals. She cares for her flowers as though they are her children and treats our cat like a baby.

      With this information, do you know her yet?

      She is a masterful performer with an extraordinary voice. She extends herself to people with genuine interest in them. She values friendships as sacred entrustments.

      How well do you know her now?

      You are learning some things about her, but it would demand a lifetime of living with her to honestly say that you know her. Brief encounters with her does not constitute knowing her. After forty-five years of marriage, I say that I know her, but not fully.

      The islands of Hawaii are beautiful and pleasant, but like every person, they are only the tops of mountains plunging deep beneath the ocean. There are massive, unexplored depths that no one sees.

      Likewise, every person has a subsurface depth that even they cannot fully know. How many times have thoughts, emotions and attitudes surfaced that we did not know were there. Since we cannot fully know ourselves, how much more can we not fully know one another?

      And this is all the more true of knowing God. We know that out of the infinite depths of God we will never find an inconsistent or flawed character, but we can never know His unfathomable wholeness. Yet, it is God who said, "Be still and know that I am God."¹ So learning about God is only the pathway to knowing God. And His infinite magnitude will demand eternity and beyond to explore, still, never reaching the end.

      Technically, the word know means to internalize and reproduce. To know about God without internalizing and reproducing his likeness by the power of the Holy Spirit is to remain as lost as a pagan. Learning in order to internalize ask God to help you internalize and reproduce the likeness of Christ (Romans 8:29) will be the highest achievement of your life.

Immanuel: God is with you!

Your friend,

Ron

¹Psalm 40:10