Perhaps one great way to start off this new year is to ask ourselves whether or not we are desiring to know more of God. This works for everyone from the seeker who is still uncertain about things to the Christian who has believed since childhood and everyone in between. God is endless. Therefore the journey to know Him should never end.

Where do we even begin to answer that question? Is it whether or not we go to church? Maybe how often we read the Bible? Or even how many Christian books we read? Could it be the number of devotions we do? All of those things alone do not necessarily point to someone who is desiring to know God. There is a vast difference between knowing about God and knowing God.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭3:17-18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The one faithful indicator that we want to know God is how connected we are with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the spiritual breath of God. It is what brings us into new life. It is the way our life and His can overlap. When Jesus spoke about abiding in Him in John chapter 15, He was alluding to the connecting force of the Spirit.

Let’s think about it on a personal level. I can know about my wife. We can talk regularly. Same with my kids. We can live under the same roof and spend our passing moments together. But even in all of that, I can still not really know them. Unless I invest quality time in knowing them, and asking the hard questions, and seeking to know their hopes and dreams, their fears and failures, and their struggles and successes, I won’t ever truly know them.

“”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.’” Matthew‬ ‭7:21-23‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The same is true with God. I can know lots of facts about God and still not know Him. I can do lots of things for God and still not know God. The passage out of Matthew 7 is one of the hardest hitting in the entire Bible. In my opinion of course. But it’s exactly what I’m talking about. These people called Jesus Lord and even did things in His name, but they had no idea who He really was. Their faith was superficial. It wasn’t about Jesus at all. It was all about themselves.

If our pursuit of God is really only about us knowing facts about Him and doing good things then it serves no more than to promote a godly image of ourselves and soothe our religious appetites. The true marker of desiring God is wanting to be with Him. Like actually connected with Him. In everything. That means allowing our individual identity to fade away and be replaced by the overlapping nature that comes with having His Holy Spirit reside in us. It means living empowered, living in hope, living in joy, living in peace, and being transformed continually. If we aren’t changing and becoming more like Jesus then we aren’t truly desiring God.

Am I content with knowing little about God? Because the only way to know God is through his Spirit, and if I don’t desire more of the spirit and being in contact with the spirit and living my life abiding in spirit then I don’t desire to know more about God. How about you?

Peace in Christ loved ones!