Revelation 5:13-14 – And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever! And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

THEME OF THE DAY: WHY DO WE WANT TO KNOW GOD? Every healthy Christian longs to know God. It is a daily desire and lifelong pursuit. The testimony of the Apostle Paul becomes the collective testimony of every child of God – “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10). Before we move on, here is a word of warning and a word of encouragement. First, the warning. If we should find this passion – “to know Christ” – rarely thought of and not diligently sought through prayer, the Word and active church life with other believers, something is seriously wrong in our walks with the Lord. Such a lack is a clear sign of worldliness, even backsliding, that only leads to painful chastisement, discontent, and unless remedied by repentance, a hardening of the heart. Now the encouragement, if our desire is to know Christ and it is verified by our pursuit of Christ, rest assured of the Spirit’s work in our lives. Don’t be discouraged by the many failings in the pursuit. Don’t despair of what seems to be little progress. Rejoice that the desire and pursuit, albeit weak at times, is present. This is not from us. All spiritual longings and desires come from the Holy Spirit. Be encouraged if our passion to know Christ is real. God is at work in us. Okay . . . back to the theme of the day.

In answering the question, “Why do we want to know God?”, there are multiple good reasons for doing so. We want His peace in trying times. Good reason. We want to experience His love. Another great reason. We want to escape His wrath and go to heaven. Still yet more excellent reasons to know Him. And I am sure there are others, but let me propose what I believe are the two most important reasons for our desire to know God. They are “to love Him” and to “worship Him.” And they are inseparable in their expressions.

First, we should want to know God to obey the Greatest Commandment which is to love Him with all our being (Luke 10:27). Friends, we were created to love God. He made us for Himself to love Him. Our greatest privilege in life as well as our greatest enjoyment and freedom is found in loving God. It is why we were created and re-created in Christ. Is this the chief reason why we want to know God? How would we know if it is the priority in our lives? Not hard to determine. It is found in one word – obedience. The Apostle John wrote, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). When God makes us His children by faith in Christ, He plants within us a desire to obey Him. Is that desire alive in our lives right now? Do a survey of our recent past, even our present. Do we see purposeful acts of obedience to God’s commands? Not out of “have to”, but motivated by love for Him? This is the primary reason to want to know Him – to love Him by obeying Him.

The second reason to want to know God flows from the first. We love Him which leads to worshipping Him. In its simplest definition, worship is exalting, blessing, and giving priority preference of our affections to the person we worship. And here is a truth to grasp. As human beings, we were created to worship. All humans worship, even unsaved humans. And we will worship one of two persons – ourselves or God. The determination of the who we worship is found in who controls our minds, hearts, and lives. Are we self-directed or God-directed? Answer that question and we answer the who of our worship. True worship grabs the entire being of the worshipper. The person we worship consumes the worshipper’s life. Now tie this to love. If we want to know God to love Him, the natural outflow of that love will be worship. Basically, who we love most will be the person we direct our worship; lovers of self or lovers of God.

So, why do we want to know God? A lot of good reasons, but the chief ones are “to love Him” and “to worship Him.” This is the Christian life and behind why God saved us from our sins.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to pursue You to know You that I might love and worship You.”

QUOTE: “God saves us to know Him in order that we might love and worship Him. We are not saved for ourselves.”