(Originally written in August 2010 - Updated in February 2025)
Last Saturday, I had a revelation while explaining the difference between faith, relationship, and religion to my son, Adam. I told him that God desires a relationship with us, and as we believe in Him and pursue Him, He reveals Himself to us. However, He doesn’t reveal Himself to just anyone—only to those who genuinely desire to know Him.
To illustrate this, I gave Adam an example: "Imagine we're in the same room. You're sitting there, and I acknowledge your presence, but I continue doing my own thing, not really showing much interest in you. I may glance at you occasionally or even engage in light conversation, but overall, I’m too busy with my own activities. You probably wouldn’t feel prompted to share much about yourself with me because I don’t seem truly interested. But what if I come up to you, look into your eyes, and sincerely say, ‘I want to know you. I would really like to understand who you are. Could you tell me more about yourself?’ Wouldn't you be more willing to share with someone who genuinely seeks to know you rather than someone who only acknowledges you occasionally?"
Later that night, as I reflected on that analogy, I realized that for most of my Christian walk, I had been like the person who merely acknowledged Jesus' presence. I was so focused on "doing" things for Him—trying to show Him how much I loved Him by accomplishing what I thought He wanted. I would say, "Look at me, Jesus! Look at all I’ve done for You! Do You want me to do more?" But I never truly stopped to seek Him, to look into His face, and say, "Lord, I want to KNOW YOU! Show me who You are!" This reminded me of the story of Mary and Martha. I had been Martha for so many years, but now, I want to be Mary! I want to sit at Jesus’ feet, look into His face, and listen to what He has to say. I am done striving—I just want to know Him.
This morning, as I revisited this thought, a scripture came to mind:
"Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’" (Matthew 7:22-23)
When I shared this with Tom, he pointed out that the two things God despised the most were idolatry and self-righteousness. Tom reminded me that Jesus will not share us with anything or anyone else. If we desire idols—things in our lives that mean more to us than Him—He won’t force His way in. He allows us to make our own choices, but in doing so, we forfeit knowing Him.
Self-righteousness, on the other hand, says, "I don’t need You, God. I can do this on my own." Wow—this described me for most of my life! I prided myself on my independence, taking care of myself, and only asking for help when absolutely necessary. But Jesus calls us to something different:
"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3)
Being like a child is all about dependence—not on ourselves, but on Him.
"I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children." (Matthew 11:25)
When we become too full of our own knowledge, we stop feeling the need for Him. But we are called to be "needy" and dependent, like children, so that He can reveal Himself to us. What will be revealed? The very person of Jesus!
1 comment:
Awesome!
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