GETTING TO KNOW GOD

From the West Meadow
By Pastor Wesley Higgins

Some of the greatest thinkers of all times have grappled with the mystery that surrounds God. How do you describe God? Who is He? What is He?

Theologians have formulated ideas and terminologies to describe Him. They use terms like omnipotent (meaning God can do all things that do not conflict with His own nature or will); omnipresent (meaning God is everywhere present); omniscient (God knows all things); and you get the point. I’m not going to argue these ideas and terminology. God is all these things and so much more.

When you sit down and read the Bible you realize that it is not God’s desire for us to view Him strictly in these theological terms. From the beginning of man's creation, God’ s plan and desire was to have a more personal relationship with us. In Genesis 2 we see a God who is concerned for man, personally teaching him and even making a soul mate for him. In Genesis 3 we find God strolling in the Garden of Eden, in the cool of the day, with apparently no more on His mind than the desire to visit with Adam and Eve (see Genesis 3:8-9).

There are numerous times throughout history when God personally or through His representatives inserts Himself in the affairs of man, all for the purpose of having a close personal relationship with us. The New Testament introduces us to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who immediately brings us to our knees with the startling revelation that the great omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God, creator of the universe, wants nothing more than to be known to us as Our Father. “Our Father” is not just some perfunctionary title. It is how God wants us to understand our relationship with Him. ‘ “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters”, says the Lord Almighty’ (II Corinthians 6:18). God has made us legal sons and daughters, co-heirs with Christ the Son of God (Romans 8:14-17).

What does all of this mean? It means that God is not some mystical, extra terrestrial being, far off somewhere (see Deuteronomy 30:11-14), but that He is as near to us as a loving parent. He is there to help us with our every need (see Matthew 6:25-34). So the next time you pray “Our Father in Heaven” do it with the understanding that He really is.

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