to know God

a little story was related to me at a recent gathering. some friends of mine were recently in Kenya doing "medical missions" or sharing God with people even as they treated their physical illnesses. while they gave shots or performed exams, they'd ask "do you know God?" answering this question, an old grizzled african man said with a smile on his face "yes, I know God...and I know him well." this made my heart churn in a new way. could i say that i really know God? do i know him well?

someone might ask me "do you know this person?" and i could say something like "i know them" but i am quick to add a disclaimer, "well, i know who they are, but i don't really know them." obviously, we can know who a lot of people are...i have quite a few "friends" on facebook, all of whom i know to one degree or another. but very few of them are confidants, very few of us are mutually involved in most areas of each others' lives and know what each others' desires, motives, passions and struggles truly are. if i had to pare down my facebook friend collection to the ones who met those criteria, the list would probably contain fewer than 10.

i think i have ceased to think of God as a person. not a person like us; i'm not about to be saying God is equal to his creation. but i think of him a big sky-being who, being perfect and incomprehensible, also has no personality. when i think of him this way, i am not making him more, but less.

my point is that we have degrees of "knowing" our friends, based on how well we know their personality and character. the old saying is that you can't really know someone if you only know about them. the same is with God, and we have all heard this before. many of us would say that we know God, or the safer phrase, "i am a christian." to actually KNOW God requires us getting to know him. this means reading his letters to us, talking with him, and above all, listening. "becoming a christian" takes a moment. but to know God? accepting Christ is only the first baby step. forgive me if i am overstepping my bounds, but...there is so much more to life than "being a Christian"! yes, it's enough to get you into heaven, but is it enough to fulfil your purpose in life?

if "knowing God" means knowing a list of his characteristics, or a one-time acceptance of his gift of saving grace, then maybe we really do know God. yes, Christ is the bridge between God and man. but we can't end there! if our chief end in life is to be a christian and accept Jesus, then we know God as we know an acquaintance on Facebook. we've been granted access to read about their favorite music, their interests and friends and hobbies, yet we've never taken advantage of that connection, and really talked with them about personal things. God is not a person like us, but he is an individual. i think when i only focus on how large and supreme and omniscient and perfect and all-powerful he is, i remove all the nuances of personality and character from him. in my mind, i often picture God as a large bright spot in the sky, with not so much as a distinct color to the brightness, let alone a personality. he has no face, no eyes, no smile or laugh. this is a stunted view, to say the least; and it is probably more of a dangerous view. the minute we start seeing God as so "otherly" that he has no personality, that's when we become bored and "used to" our "christian walk with God." i'd get bored quick if a friend had no personality and was in such a different social sphere that we had nothing in common; why do i think i am above that in relation to my creator?

maybe the reasons we don't like to ascribe "human" traits to God is because we can only see the earthly, corrupted versions of those traits. love is twisted and wrung dry, until it means little but sex and passive leniency and a warm, vague feeling of happiness. justice is warped until it excuses the violence of war-crazy politicians and hate-filled fundamentalists. mercy is either seen as spinelessly weak, or preeminent at the expense of justice. our preverted sense of humor can turn the most despicable and heartbreaking things into laughing matters. but don't forget the one who first thought up the (uncorrupted) characteristics is the one who appreciates them the most.

how many of us would say we know God? how many would say we know him well? to know him, we must treat him much the same way as we treat our close friends: ask questions, study what he creates and writes and says, ask others about their experiences with him, listen to his voice. if we are created to know and love God, then even if we are already christians, we might be falling vastly short of our greatest purpose, both for in this life and the next.