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strange or even impossible question to answer. Some people say they know about God. Some say they know of God or of a ‘higher power. Some have even gone to schools to learn as much as they can about God and the Bible, but still can’t say for sure that they actually know Him. So why the question? Well, the truth is, this question is the whole point of Christianity! You see, God is ‘huge’ and beyond our grasp to ever fully understand Him. He created the entire universe and everything that exists. He is perfect and doesn’t have all the issues and ‘bad habits’ that we do. As a matter of fact, He’s perfect in every way, even though the church has often made a mess of portraying that fact. And the reality of this vast God is that as ‘big’ as He is, He loves us!?! As perfect as He is and as screwed up as we can be at times, we still matter very much to Him. As distant from being ‘good enough’ and worthy of much of anything, as we can feel so often, He still has amazing things for each and every person on the face of the earth! "So what’s the point?!?” The point is that God desires very much for every person to know Him, to know His love, His grace, His forgiveness, His awesome plan for each of our lives. But relationship with God can’t be built by being religious or simply going to church. It isn’t about impressing Him with how good you can be! It can only take place when we truly want to know Him more. You’re probably still asking, “But how can I KNOW God? How can I have a relationship with Him? I’m a mess, so what would He want to do with me?” The answer is in the reality that He loves us. As a matter of fact He loves us so much that He has made a way for everyone who is willing and believes, to not only know Him, but to have all the guilt and condemnation of our bad choices removed. Once we’ve begun a relationship with Him, He doesn’t hold an ounce of our past against us! No matter what your past or present holds; lying, stealing, sex, drugs, homosexuality, murder…He wants a relationship with you! "Okay, okay so what’s the way?” Well, it starts with this: “God so loved us (the world) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have 1`eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. ” God’s desire was always for us to have a relationship with Him. A real, conversing, loving relationship with God, but we blew it! Our habit of doing things we know we shouldn’t and choosing often to live in ways that are actually destructive separated us from this perfect God. But that didn’t stop Him from making sure we had a way to be restored to Him. So He sent Jesus to sacrifice Himself, to take on Himself all our mistakes, selfish decisions and rebellion so that our lives could be spared. So that the gap between our imperfection and God’s perfection could be bridged and even the worst screw-up on the face of the Earth could be changed and know God! "So what do I do with all this? I kind of get it, but I still have lots of questions.” It starts with simply realizing that you want to know God, but there’s nothing you can do to get there on your own. Then, you take a step and believe that what Jesus did is true and enough to open the door to relationship with God. You start talking to Him, beginning with “Jesus, I want to know you. I admit I’ve made many bad decisions and those have pushed me farther from knowing you. But today I ask for you to forgive me and meet with me. ” You don’t have to understand everything. You don’t have to know everything. Just spend time building that relationship with God everyday in conversation with Him (prayer). Get to know what He’s like by reading the Bible. Surround yourself with others who are working on their relationship with Him in a church family. And, by the way….welcome home! If you would like to chat more about this or have more questions, then please contact us! We would love to hear from you! |