My mind rejoices at knowing that no matter how big I try to make God look with my words, He is bigger.  No matter how good I try to make good seem, he is better.  No matter how faithful I try to convey that God is, His faithfulness exceeds my abilities.  The list goes on.  Sometimes I let my mind just ponder that for a bit, and what happens is that I realize that whatever picture of God I had in my mind, it was insufficient.  Have any of you ever thought about that?  It’s a good exercise to do, especially if you are struggling to “see God” amidst your circumstances.

What happens is that when we see God clearly as He is, we realize that there is no treasure greater than God Himself.  Everything else in our lives is incalculably less important than having God.  The joys we could pursue outside of God become incalculably less desirable.  The relationships in our lives become not an end unto themselves, but a means by which we are pursuing more of God in our lives.  This is the heart of a Christian.

I often tell people that if you want to know if you are truly saved, you only need to answer 1 question “Do I love God”.  Now, that question is a legitimate question – it is true that no one can love God without the Holy Spirit within Him, and the Holy Spirit is God’s seal that our faith is real, and we will spend eternity with him.  The problem with my question is that you first have to define who God is, and what love for Him means.  In reality most people who have said a prayer, can recite the gospel, have no real affection for God, and it is evident by their lives.  This is why 90% of American is “Christian” according to polls, but we are one of the most immoral countries imaginable.  This is what it means in James 2:17-20 – “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!  Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?” 

Now the Bible is a great gift from God, however it is greatly misunderstood.  The Bible is not a toolbox for how to live a Christian life (even though it is mistakenly used that way often).  The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to us.  Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, and said that all of the old testament prophets, all of the stories of old testament Israel – they were all talking about Christ.  Everything is about Him, and for those who love Him, this is great news.  For those who really don’t want Christ, but rather just what He can give them, you probably this is horrible news, but you probably have already closed out of this email, so I’ll continue for the rest of us…  Many people don’t want to read their Bible because they don’t want to be confronted by the One true God.  They want to continue in their lives thinking that their love for God is consistent with a life of greed, adultery, sexual immorality, malicious behavior, etc.  Others simply say they “can’t find the time”.    Here is my response.  Name some activity that you enjoy doing?  Maybe it’s watching TV, playing Golf, spending time with your friends, etc.  Have consistently engaged in that activity without spending time with God in His Word?  Whatever that is that you just named – that’s your God.  That is what you worship and adore.  You cannot say you have genuine affection for someone or something, yet consistently it “loses” out to something else.

Ok, now that we’ve all been beaten up a little bit, be comforted to know that we are all sinners, and all fall short.  Let me give you this exhortation, though – if you do love God (The real God of the Bible, Jesus, not merely the idea of God, or what he can give you like escape from hell and reconciliation with dead relatives in heaven, etc) then wouldn’t you want to spend time with Him?  There are some things about God that we cannot know, because they are too great for us right now, but wouldn’t you want to know everything you could know?  God wrote a book about Himself to us – wouldn’t you want to read it over and over?  Reading your Bible isn’t an act of obedience, it is a heart issue that pierces all the question of our salvation.  Everyone who truly loves God, will pursue Him, and He is ever present in His Word, greatly desirous that we would come to know Him more.  If you don’t have affections for God, that drive you to want to know Him from His Word, start there – set aside time to read your Bible, and as you do, ask God to pierce your heart, and ask Him earnestly to give you genuine affections for Him – That is NEVER a request God will say no to.

Our lives are a daily battle, and there is no greater offensive weapon than the Word of God.  I hope your time with Him is immensely beneficial, I know it will be, because the Word itself gives me confidence of that very thing – 2 Timothy 3:16 –  “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

Grace and Peace be With You,
Adam