Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24
There are far too many distractions vying for our affections and seeking to get our focus off of what delights God. Our society cries out that our worth is found in performance, appearance, intellect, rights and might. It claims we ought to be elevated above others and glory in these things. As a result, far too many of us spend far too much time and energy comparing ourselves to one another in these areas, seeking to find something in which to boast and glory. God says that none of these things are worthy of glory. He tell us that to know Him and understand Him as the God who delights in revealing His steadfast character of love, justice and righteousness in this earth is the supreme thing in which we are called to rejoice
What an awesome thing to say that we know and understand God and the things in which He delights. The Bible uses two different words for our English verb “to know.” The first is ido, which means to know intuitively; this is the kind of knowing which comes through reading or hearsay. The second is gnosco, which is the experiential knowing of God.
Worshipping in our church buildings, praying, and fellowshipping with our Christian societal peers, albeit honorable, are not enough to satisfy the longing of our souls to know and understand Jesus. Service to the Least of These is necessary to knowing God experientially – this is part of the gnosco of knowing.
I spent a great deal of time seeking to go deeper in my walk with Christ. Through attending countless Christian events, I hoped to know Him more intimately. Most often I would experience a candy bar high of sorts – where I was emotionally high at the event, but then would find myself crashing down upon my return home. It was as if I was still just hearing more about God but not experiencing anything new of His character.
Through a serious of random circumstances in my life, I ended up taking what seemed to me as steps downward into the lands of the poor and needy, and that is where I began to experience the character of God that I had longed to know. God also revealed to me that these steps were not downward steps at all; but rather that He was promoting me to join Him in His work here on earth and to really come and know Him. With each step I took, the worldly voices which say that appearance and performance are to be most valued seemed to quiet, and the still small voice of the Shepherd became more clear than ever before.
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