Want to know God?

Highland Baptist Church, Florence

One interesting thing about relationships is watching how they grow. As time is invested in those we love and trust grows between us, relationships are deepened. As a young man, I heard my father talk about how much more he loved my mother after all those years than he did the day they married. His love for her had grown richer, stronger and deeper over time. I was so in love with my wife on our wedding day I couldn’t imagine such a thing, but 23 years later I can tell you it’s true. I love her more now than I did then and with a deeper love. 

The same thing is true in our relationship with God. He has done everything necessary for our salvation. Although we are sinners separated from Him by our sin and under the sentence of death, He loves us too much to leave us like that. He sent His Son to rescue us. Even though Jesus Christ was without sin, He took our place on the cross and endured the wrath of God that should have been ours. 

We know that the dying Savior was the Son of the Living God and that God accepted the sacrifice of His Son as full payment for our sin because He rose again. Today His Holy Spirit shows us the ugliness of our sin and the greatness of His gift and draws us to a place where we willingly surrender our lives to the one who died for us. As we turn in faith from our sin and trust Christ alone for our salvation, He changes us and brings us into a right relationship with God. 

That can be true for you today if you are willing and ready to give Him your life. That is where knowing God begins. In that moment we come to know God in a real and personal way through Jesus Christ, but that is not the end. It is only the beginning. Our love for Him grows as we learn to trust His grace over time. Our relationship with Him becomes deeper, richer and sweeter. Some think it’s like getting your ticket punched so you miss hell and go to heaven. Those things are true and great, but it is about so much more. Salvation is a relationship with a God who knows us and invites us to know Him.