Exodus 33:13 “If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.”

The more Moses got to know God, the more He wanted to know of God. That is exactly the way it should be. When someone complains that following God is a lot of trouble, it’s clear evidence they don’t really know Him. I’m reminded of the Beatles’ song, My Sweet Lord, which says “I really want to know you, I really want to see you, but it takes so long.” The futility expressed in the song is hardly surprising, because the lyrics also incorporate Hindu chants! I have wondered, in the years since I first heard that song, what would have happened if someone had exercised the courage to really share the Gospel with the Beatles. They seemed to be searching, but they tried the paths of drugs and Hindu mysticism. I seem to recall hearing that Ringo has become a Christian, but if so, he’s the only one, and that’s sad. We tend to approach God with all sorts of preconditions in our hearts and minds, and as a result we either fail to find Him at all, or we get a horribly distorted impression of Him. From His side, God wants us to seek Him and find Him, and He promises to make it possible if we will let go of our preconditions. (Jeremiah 29:13) It was not just a figure of speech when Jesus said we must come to God as little children. (Mark 10:15)

I too have tended to want God to be this way or that way, instead of accepting and delighting in Him as He is. Doing that is always a problem, because He is far better than we could imagine Him to be. We indeed tend to “create God in our image,” portraying Him as like us, instead of realizing that He has imparted to us just a taste of how He is. (Genesis 1:26) I seek to give people a hunger for God, along with the knowledge and hope that He can be found. I am constantly aware that I can’t save anyone; that interaction is between the individual and God. However, I can let them know that He is not unapproachable, expressing God’s invitation to them and praying that they will open their hearts to the convicting, cleansing work of the Holy Spirit. To do so, I need to keep pressing in for more of God myself, with the assurance that the more I open my heart to Him, the more He will open His heart to me.

Father, this is an incredible reality, that You desire to be in us and us in You. (John 17:20-21) May I both rejoice to know that and act on it, committing myself to total obedience so that nothing may get in the way of that fellowship, that is beyond expressing with words. Thank You. Praise God!