Unsurpassed Excellence of His Knowledge
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"That I may know Him......" (Philippians 3:10) We reached the beginning of a new year that we can welcome with joy and hope as we rely on God’s grace and on the promise that His mercies and compassions fail not. Indeed,they are renewed every morning as we spend time in His presence. As days unfold one by one, we witness the restlessness, insecurity and instability of the world we live in; we become even more aware of the truth that times and ages belong to God alone and that it is only a very short time before we see our precious Lord Jesus. While people everywhere are busy misdirecting energy and resources towards self-achievement, self-development and self-improvement, our greatest delight should be to know and exalt the Lord Jesus more and more each day. We should stand in direct opposition to self, rejecting the stream of the world's views and values. Only when we focus on knowing the God we profess can we serve Him and make Him known to others. It is not adequate to know more and more about God, but we must grow in experiential knowledge as we submit ourselves to His dominion and learn to abide in a living and constant communion with Him through His Holy Spirit. Purposing to serve God better, to do more good to others, and to get more involved in spiritual ministries may be good; but only by knowing Him are we able to be real disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need more than good doctrine. We need more than perfect moral standards. Rather, we stand in deep need of a genuine and vibrant relationship with God Himself. We must direct an undivided heart and an unwavering dedication to listening to Him day by day that we may know and walk in His perfect will. When we surrender our own will and become completely identified with the resurrected life of Christ Jesus, all other aspects of our life, including our service to God, will receive real and everlasting value as they freely and spontaneously flow from an intimate union with the Son of God." May our daily prayer be "Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight." (Exodus 33:13) Let us purpose with all our heart and strive with all our might to live in such a way that the joy of the Lord, the glory of His name and a relationship with Him become the highest purpose and the only consuming desire of our hearts for every single day of our lives. |