Why Knowing God Should Be Your Greatest Pursuit

Posted on Aug 10, 2021 Topic : Men's Christian Living, Women's Christian Living

What were we made for? To know God.
What aim should we have in life? To know God.
What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God.
What is the best thing in life? To know God.
What in humans gives God the most pleasure? Knowledge of Himself.
—J.I. Packer

As we consider the spiritual disciplines, or means of grace, it is crucial that we remember not only the great purpose of these habits but also the great blessing they represent. We were made to know God and to be known by God. We were made in the image of God to have a real and living relationship with God. We were the ones who interrupted this relationship through our sin and rebellion, who declared God an enemy rather than a friend. What a blessing, then, that even though we rebelled against God through our sin, he made the way for the relationship to be restored. What an honor that he still invites us to join into that relationship, that friendship. These practices are the keys to knowing God. It is through the Bible that we learn about the nature of God and the acts of God; it is through prayer that we speak to God and share our hearts with him; it is through fellowship that we join into his body, serve his people, and demonstrate his love. It is because Christianity is intrinsically relational that Packer can say, “What is the best thing in life? To know God.” May we never lose the wonder of that great privilege.

When you come to knowing God, the initiative lies on His side. If He does not show Himself, nothing you can do will enable you to find Him.
—C.S. Lewis

There are no truly innocent human beings. Each of us has willfully rebelled against God, but even if we hadn’t, we would still be tainted by the sin of Adam, for “by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19). In Paul’s great letter to the church in Rome, he explains that in our sinful state, we actively suppress any knowledge of God, even denying the undeniable reality of his power and presence in creation. Our thinking about God and the state of our own souls becomes futile, our hearts become darkened, and we behave like fools—for “the fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’”(Psalm 14:1). Yet this is a book about having a genuine relationship with God. How can that be? It is possible only because God has taken the initiative. When we could not and would not reach out to him, he has reached out to us. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.… God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6,8). That’s the kind of God we serve—the God who reaches out!

Revelation is the free act of God by which He graciously condescends to display and reveal His character, nature, and will to mankind.
—Erwin Lutzer

God has graciously chosen to initiate relationship with human beings who, left to themselves, deny his power and even his very existence. He does this through revelation—through revealing himself to us. But what is it that he reveals about himself? As Lutzer explains, it is his character, his nature, and his will. I’ve heard it said that character is who you are when no one is looking. God reveals himself as someone who existed long before there was anyone looking, and then as now, his character was marked by love. He has always existed in a loving relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We might say his nature is his attributes, or the qualities of his “godness.” And his will includes his desires for humanity. As the one who created us, he is the one who has the right to tell us how we ought to live. How does God reveal all of this? Through what we call general revelation and special revelation. General revelation is what God reveals to all of humanity through what has been made and can be observed by all. Special revelation is what God reveals through special means—most notably through Scripture and its revelation of Jesus Christ.