Pressing on to Know the Lord

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” – Hosea 4:6

Knowledge is power so they say. When it comes to knowing the character of God, the lack of knowledge is detrimental. The weight of this verse lies on the spiritual leaders of God’s people. What an absolute travesty that God’s own people would lack knowledge of Him. This goes back to the one’s teaching. Let us first then take care if we are teachers of God’s Word in any capacity. Whether it be in Sunday School or to our own children and families, it matters to God that we teach about Him rightly. Secondly, though, let us consider that there is a direct correlation between increasing knowledge of God and growth in our walk with Him. The more we know God, the more we love Him. True knowledge of God is impossible apart from Christ. Jesus, God in the flesh, revealed to us the fullness of who God is. By knowing Christ and surrendering to His Lordship we come to know God in a personal way. How have you sought to increase your knowledge of God lately? Let us think intently on Christ and His person. Let us think intently on Christ and His work. We do this by drinking deeply from Scripture. Not just reading it, but meditating on it. It is not enough for us to just say we know God. Many people say they know God but on closer examination of their lives there does not appear to be any genuine love for Christ. No, the more we know God, the more we love Him. And the more we love Him, the more we will see our lives in conformity to His revealed will. The more we love Christ the more we love Scripture because Scripture points to Him on every page. And the more we come to love Scripture the more we will know about Christ, and the more we know about Christ the more we will love Him! What a sweet cycle of knowing and loving God. But where there is a lack of knowledge of God, you will see destruction. Where knowledge of God is weak, sin reigns unchecked. In so many places lip service is given to God but His ways are forsaken. It is as though people think they can really know God while simultaneously rejecting what He has revealed to us in His precious Word. Yet, to reject the truth of Scripture is to reject the God who wrote it. So, this day, and this year, resolve to grow in your knowledge of God. To grow in your understanding of His attributes. His goodness. His power. His sovereignty. His love. His mercy. His grace. Grow in your understanding and application of His word. To grow in your understanding of Christ’s work in the gospel. We do not know what the rest of this year has in store, but we do know that a year where we fail to grow in the knowledge of God, is a year wasted. “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD…” (Hosea 6:3).