The Meditative Journey has been on hold as I went through knee surgery and recovery for the last month. We are now back on track.

Meditation Journey Day 34                          

Hi Friend,

One last thought about knowing Jesus Christ. It is not enough for us to think we know Him; what is critical after we die is that He knows us. In Matthew’s gospel, chapter seven, Jesus responds to some people with one of the scariest replies in the whole Bible.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

This is very unsettling because the double use of the word “Lord” indicates they thought they were close to God. They also believed what they accomplished for Him was very impressive. These deceived people really thought that just performing religious works was all God was expecting from His followers.

When David wrote that the LORD knew him it was in a very personal way. It is more than God knowing everything about every person at all times. That is what the Bible describes, and theologians teach, as the omniscience or all-knowing of God. What David means when he discovers that the LORD has searched him and knows him was that God knew him in a personal way.

The meaning behind the phrase, “the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” is achieved when we love Him with all our hearts and love others as He has loved us. The ability to obey God comes from a loving relationship with Him. David had that relationship with God in an intimate and interactive way. It is only as we have a personal close relationship with Jesus that we will actually do His will and not just follow man’s religious dictates.  

David knew God and God knew him because David was dependent on God. He knew that without the Living God being with him, he had no spiritual life. Jesus taught this in John 15 when He said, “I AM the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” We can do much religious activity, even impressive sacrifices, but God wants our undivided love. Paul wrote: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13

Jesus wants a genuine relationship with us. In John 15, He called this abiding in Him. “Abiding” is a very dependent relational term that reveals a living connection that is continually nourished through interaction. It means to dwell with God.  I may visit many places to sleep and eat, but I dwell at my home. Does Jesus dwell with you continually? Do you interact with Him on a personal intimate basis or is your relationship formal and religious? Is God personally with you all the time or does He just live at some building we call church? The people Jesus rejected and declared He did not know had the attitude that you left God at the building. They had a formal relationship with God that only functioned within their set of rules.

David realized The LORD is the living God with whom we enter into a relationship of love on a personal basis. This relationship is illustrated by a godly marriage where the man and wife relate to each other in a continual and intimate way (Ephesians 5). Jesus doesn’t want to just date you. He wants to take you home and be your husband!!! You may think you know Him, but does He know you?

You can be sure He knows you, if you have a continual humble dependent attitude towards your Loving Savior and His Word.

He said it clearly in John 15:7. “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Then when we cry Lord, Lord, He will be attentive to our call.

Observation: God wants to know us personally.  He knows everything about everybody, because He is omniscient. What He created us for is to have intimate personal fellowship with us. The question is not do we know Jesus, but have we yielded to Him in humble love so He can know us?

Interpretation: Religion can deceive people into thinking God just expects us to keep righteous rules. Jesus died on the cross and rose again so we could know Him and He could know us…in a personal and close relationship. Do you have that kind of a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ?

Application Prayer: Father God thank you for sending Jesus to become The Door to Heaven and open fellowship with You. I want to know you and I want you to know me. I yield my heart to you and humble myself to your Word.…in Jesus Name, Amen.

What is your take away?