Children make a lot of noise. They live out loud. They laugh loud, talk loud, fight loud, play loud, and somehow even manage to sleep loud. They live life wide open because they haven’t built up walls to protect themselves.
I care for three little girls during the week. Being raised as one of four girls, I am not shocked by the near jet engine decibel level and constant chatter in the house. I get it.
I did have to stop one day at the sound of the 3-year-old’s voice—a beautiful sound singing equally beautiful words: “Jesus Loves Me, This I know.” I know the song. I have sung it countless times, often along with the Whitney Houston version. She does a much better job than I do—pitch perfect and on key. But her version pales in comparison to the 3-year-old’s.
When that little one sings, “This I know,” she means it, heart and soul. When I sing it, well, it’s all in my head. My adult, jaded mind is hampered from understanding the kind of love a child can easily understand.
This past Sunday, our pastor preached on Knowing God or Knowing about God. There’s a big difference. I know my family and friends and what makes them happy, sad, or hurt. I spend time with them, listening, talking, laughing, and crying. We have relationships.
I can say I know Whitney Houston, but I only know about her—the songs, the movies, the tabloid fodder. I have never spoken with her, shared with her, or had any relationship with her.
Christian, God wants you to know Him more than you know about Him. He wants to know you, too!
This happens like it does with our family and friends. Spend time with Him. Read His word and devotionals, attend church, and a small group. Pray quietly, and then listen for His still, small voice. We can’t hear him through the clutter and chaos.
To really know Him, take Him at His Word. “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) He is the I AM. Getting to know an invisible God sounds impossible to us. So, He provided a way. God sent His Son Jesus, whose very life we see in the pages of the Bible. Learn about Jesus, and you learn about God. When you know Jesus, you know God.
Jesus and God are one and the same. In Exodus, when Moses asked God who He was, God told him, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ (Exodus 3:14) In John 4:16, Jesus uses the same name: “I Am the way and the truth and the life.” In its original language, “I AM” translates to the God that was, is, and will always be.
That everlasting God wants to have a relationship with you, to know you, for you to KNOW Him. Jesus is The Way.
When my little friend sang, “Jesus loves me, this I know,” it hit me like a lightning bolt. I had to ask myself, do I know that or merely know about that love? The song’s words speak the truth. Jesus loves us. “The Bible tells us so.” Believe it. Be still and Know that he is God.
IT'S A HARnDen LIFE... 