Greetings in Christ,
How many of you have ever played a game where you had to answer questions about your spouse or significant other? The questions can be about the details of the other persons’ life for example: shoe size, first car, high school attended etc. The questions reveal the knowledge of the couples and how well they know each other. My wife Susan and I played such a game, and it revealed many areas of our lives which could only be known by us if we shared with each other all of the details of our lives. The list of answers required would make for a long list, or a very good memory.
Susan and I did not fair out so well. We knew the least about each other for example: I did not know the exact shoe size Susan wore, or the exact date I proposed to her; she did not know my exact height, nor what was my first car. We have talked about those things and some of them may have been necessary in life to remember, but for the purpose of the game we failed to really know each other to pass the test. The ironic part of the game was to reveal who did not know that much about each other, and to that end we won the game and the prize so we could get to know each other better.
While the game revealed Susan and I did not know each other in detail which pertained to the questions, it does not mean we do not know each other. If we had known all the answers, would it have meant we really knew each other, or we were good at details and had a good memory? The whole idea of being in a relationship is to know the person inside. It is getting to know someone in their moments no one else would know or have ever seen. Moses faced a situation just like Susan and I and he did not do so well either.
God is calling Moses to go to Egypt to free the Israelites from bondage, but Moses is failing to recognize God for Who He was and is. Moses gives every excuse to avoid going to Egypt fearing he will fail. He gives many reasons for not wanting to go even one where he cannot talk eloquently. He feels he needs to be gifted with speech, but God answers back with His answer. Did I not make your mouth? Moses was trying very hard to back out on God’s proposal because he did not know God.
The Jews faced the same issue when they confronted Jesus. They claimed Jesus to be demon possessed because of the way He spoke of Himself to the other people. He claimed to be the Son of God, and God was the witness to this proclamation. Jesus knew the Father and what He was saying was true, but the Jews claimed He could not make such a claim. Jesus responded if they knew God, they would know Him. The Jews retorted they knew what was written down in recorded history and it did not fit what Jesus was claiming. They relied on facts and memory to give them reason to doubt Jesus which revealed they did not know God.
How well do we know God? More importantly how well does God know us? Will we know all the details of God in our lives? Probably not? Is it important? No, but do we know Him well enough we will follow Him anywhere He leads us, and trust Him to provide for us? Do we give up all the details of our lives to Him holding nothing back letting Him have access to our lives, or do we hold back wanting to keep secrets from Him? How well do we know God?
To know and be known by God. That is something to really consider. How important is it? It will depend on our thoughts of eternity, and where we want to spend it.
“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous will enter through it. I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O Lord, do save, we beseech You; O Lord, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord; we have blessed you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God, and He has given us light; bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I extol You. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” Psalm 118:19-29
Lord, may we know and more importantly may You know us. Draw us close to You as we walk with You. Amen
Blessings,