It can't be helped: a stunted view of God results in stunted faith and a weak Christian walk. Here are some thoughts on that subject.
On a recent Sunday morning, I heard a quote from Louie Giglio, the Pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I'm going to take the liberty of repeating that quote here.
Wow! The less we see God as He really is, the more we have incomplete, wrong ideas about Him. We can't help but have itty-bitty faith, wimpy worship, and incomplete discipleship if we don't know Him as He wants to be known, revealed in Scripture enlightened by His Spirit.
On a recent Sunday morning, I heard a quote from Louie Giglio, the Pastor of Passion City Church in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I'm going to take the liberty of repeating that quote here.
When God is not greatly praised, it's only because we don't think He's that great of a God. When our worship is small, it's because our concept of God is small. When we offer God little-bitty sacrifices, it's because we've somehow reduced Him in our hearts to a little-bitty God.
We lose sight of the reality of all realities: There's an infinite, limitless God high and exalted on His throne, ruling with all power and authority over the heavens and earth.
Wow! The less we see God as He really is, the more we have incomplete, wrong ideas about Him. We can't help but have itty-bitty faith, wimpy worship, and incomplete discipleship if we don't know Him as He wants to be known, revealed in Scripture enlightened by His Spirit.
Knowing Him better is one of the main thoughts behind Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1:17-21:
17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
In truth, it's not possible for a human being in this life to fully see God -- the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- for all that He is in all of His glory and magnificence. But we should all be growing with pure hearts towards that goal. As Paul prayed, we must pray.
As we love Him more, He is able to reveal Himself more. Jesus said "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8) So let's get that started by crying out to be transformed to love Him with a pure heart. That's something we can't gin up in ourselves. Cry out for it. He loves that kind of prayer! That prayer, when heartfelt, is built on repentance. There's power in repentance.
Go for it. Knowing Him well is an eternal calling, one that only gets bigger as we move past this life into the next. In this world, the weaker our view of God, the weaker our Christian walk. He wants us to know as much of the REAL Him, in a personal kind of knowing, as a human being can get while here.
As we love Him more, He is able to reveal Himself more. Jesus said "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8) So let's get that started by crying out to be transformed to love Him with a pure heart. That's something we can't gin up in ourselves. Cry out for it. He loves that kind of prayer! That prayer, when heartfelt, is built on repentance. There's power in repentance.
Go for it. Knowing Him well is an eternal calling, one that only gets bigger as we move past this life into the next. In this world, the weaker our view of God, the weaker our Christian walk. He wants us to know as much of the REAL Him, in a personal kind of knowing, as a human being can get while here.
No comments:
Post a Comment