majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of
him in Galatians 4:9a,
"Now that you know God—or rather are known by God..."
Here is something that is sobering and even a little frightening to
think about: we are known by God! In this passage Paul asks the
Galatians why they would turn back to former "weak and miserable
principles" in light of the fact that they know God and are known by
God.
It is astonishing to think that God knows us. That he who crafted the
cosmos and brought all things into existence is aware of all of us is
mind boggling. I sense here that Paul is thinking of a more intimate
knowing of us as his children as he mentions earlier in the chapter.
We are God's sons and daughters and co-heirs with his Son, Jesus
Christ.
I would suspect Paul would agree that God knows us intimately. He
knows our likes and dislikes, our preferences, what excites us and
what frightens us. He knows what we like to eat and what we like to
wear. He also knows the things we do, the things we think, the things
we say, the things we feel. He knows about our tendency toward certain
sins and he knows where our strengths lie. He knows how to enable us
to do what he wants done through us and he knows how to "gift" us to
meet the needs of others. He knows the good, the bad and the ugly. As
the writer of Hebrews puts it, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from
God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:13.
In spite of knowing all these things about us, he embraces us as his
children. He loves us more than any natural parent could and I am
convinced he does things for us constantly, often in little ways. He
has decided to spend eternity with all who will embrace him in faith.
He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. As Paul puts it so
wonderfully in his letter to the Ephesian church, "Praise be to the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the
heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose
us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in
his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through
Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise
of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he
loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on
us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the
mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed
in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached
their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together
under one head, even Christ." Ephesians 1:3-10. Just how wonderful is
that?
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share
your thoughts of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We'd
love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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