How do you KNOW God, really?

You can't truly know someone by reading a book. 

 

I once attended a lecture by a highly respected American historian who might be considered the world's foremost expert on the life and presidency of Abraham Lincoln.

 

It's not a stretch to say that no one in the world knows more about Lincoln than this man. I believe he's still alive (based on a Google Search he's approaching 90).

 

In the Q&A portion after the lecture, someone approached the microphone and, while I don't remember the exact question, it had to do with Lincoln's motivations. The questioner began with a qualification, "I don't know if anyone has ever known Lincoln better than you do."

 

The scholar cut him off. "Hold on right there. I'd say that Mary Todd Lincoln knew him better than I do. So did his children. I never met Lincoln. I certainly know a lot about the man... but I never knew him. Despite appearances, I'm not that old." (

 

Everyone laughed. But he had a point.

 

The same principle comes to how well we know the Lord. All this lecturer had was a lifetime of study and research. But he'd never had a cup of coffee with Lincoln. He never had a chance to look in the 16th U.S. President's eyes and ask him a question. He never even saw him in the flesh.

 

This scholar realized that academic study and knowledge can only get you so far. 

 

There are a few people who know more about me than my children do. But no one (my wife being the only possible exception) know me better than my children.

 

Because we have a relationship. We spend time together. They don't know my history or my entire life-story... but they know my heart...

 

God doesn't call us to be "academics." Gaining knowledge isn't the key to a deep relationship. You can't get closer to God purely by studying the Bible...

 

And I'm telling you that from experience. Because I took the academic road as far as it would take me. And I still found (more often than not) that a wise old woman (or man) could sometimes teach me more than anything I'd ever learned in a classroom about the heart of God.

 

Hold that thought. 

 

At some point in my thirties I decided to start asking my Grandfather questions about his life. He was a WW2 Veteran. There aren't many men I've looked up to and respected more than my Pa-Pa.

 

But at some point I realized he'd lived a long life... we didn't have much time left with him... and I knew very little about him. So I started asking him questions. I wanted to know more about his childhood (it was difficult, even abusive... I didn't know that...), I wanted to know about his decision to join the Navy, how he met my Grandmother, and when he knew he wanted to marry her. I asked him about how he started his business - a company my own father eventually took over - which was an innovative kind of business at the time (it's much more commonplace now, but then, the business was one-of-a-kind).

 

Needless to say, these are all facts that anyone could have learned. There are people who knew all these things about my grandpa long before I did. But when I started learning more about him, it proceeded from the love I had for the man.

 

The things I learned about him had more meaning to me because we loved each other.

 

Intimacy with those whom we love, a relationship, sets the stage for our knowledge. 

 

Knowledge without a relationship is never more than knowledge about... Because really knowing someone isn't a matter of the mind. It's a matter of the heart.

 

The same goes for spiritual intimacy. You can't get there by thinking your way closer to God. But you can get there by walking with Him.

 

Now how do you do that? If it's not about what we think about God... and it's not a mental exercise... how do we really draw closer to Him?

 

We'll talk more about how that in the days to come. The good news is that there's not a single answer. God has given us a multiplicity of ways to know him more.

 

Blessings always!!!

 

Judah

 

P.S. A few people have written me asking me about my pen-name. I'm adding this little post-script to answer questions I sometimes receive. I'd rather get this out there pre-emptively rather than deal with the questions in my in-box. I'm a busy fellow, and don't always have time to reply to everyone.

 

I am intentionally using the name "Judah Lamb" for this sequence and for my Christian thrillers for a few reasons. While both the names "Judah" and "Lamb" have messianic connections in the Bible... I am in no-wise making any claims to be any kind of messianic figure. Don't go there. That's not the point. I wouldn't even feel the need to say it, though, if a few people hadn't e-mailed me making arguments to that effect.

 

I do believe that the Gospel brings us into communion with Christ, a kind of oneness that allows us to function as God's image (an image we had in Creation, and was restored in Christ) to the world. We are to be (as Martin Luther said) little Christ's to our neighbor. I'm using this name to write these books and e-mails as a way of divesting myself of any glory. This isn't about me. It's also a way to prevent myself from taking pride in any of this... thinking I've done something special that will earn me personal fame/glory. I want everything I do under this name to point to Christ. That's the point. It's not about me. I'm just an "image" and hopefully this pen-name reflects that truth.

 

It's also a way of protecting my family. Believe it or not, I've published under my legal name before and I've had people track me down, make threats, etc. I've had people stalk my wife on social media, etc. and threaten her. It's unfortunate, but as a father of three young children, using a pen-name has become a necessity.

 

The pen-name is not a way of hiding behind anonymity. That's not the point. I have nothing to hide. I couldn't care less about how people judge me for what I teach/say/write. God knows who I am, He will examine my heart in the end. He will hold me accountable. You don't have to.