“Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’” —Matthew 25:11-12 NIV
I don’t know King Charles III of England, although I surely know a lot about him. I know he married Diana when he was much younger, and they had two sons named William and Harry. Sadly, their marriage ended in divorce, and later, Diana perished in a dreadful automobile accident. He remarried Camilla and, by all accounts, seems happier in his second marriage. He lost his father a few years ago, and his mom died last year. That’s when he became king. I know he loves architecture and often enjoys fruit and granola for breakfast. He wrote a children’s book and is fond of magic tricks.
However, if I were to approach Buckingham Palace arrayed with all this knowledge and ask to see him, I would, of course, be denied entrance. I’ve read about King Charles and seen his picture multiple times, but I don’t know him, and he most certainly does not know me.
In several rather sobering passages of the Bible, God makes “knowing Him” a very high priority. In my devotions recently, I opened up to one of them in Matthew 25. It’s a story about ten bridesmaids waiting for the groom. Five had lanterns ready with extra oil in case he took his time arriving, while the other five did not. Five perhaps knew the bridegroom had warned of a delay—or they were so eager to see him they made sure they were ready. Five were not ready. In the end, when those five asked for entrance, they were denied. That’s not a fun read. But there it is. Jesus says something quite similar in another passage:
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:22-24 NIV).
Okay then. What does it mean to “know God?” To know Him well enough that He recognizes us as His own on Judgment Day? It seems to me this is something we really need to get right! Right? First, let’s look at what knowing God is not. Obviously, it’s not knowing about Him. James tells us even the demons believe He exists, but they are not His own. Apparently, it also doesn’t mean doing good deeds in His Name. We can claim we belong to Him and do some pretty astounding things using His Name, but that evidently isn’t enough either. Nope. Factual knowledge and good deeds do not give us entrance into eternal life with Him.
So what does?
It’s a heart thing. We have been offered the greatest gift of all time. Jesus took upon Himself all our sins … every horrid thing we’ve ever done … when He died on the cross and received the punishment we deserved. Are we going to accept that gift or not? If we do, we invite God to enter into us. To live within. To surrender our right to control our lives (which is pretty funny when you think about it. What kind of control do we have anyway, what with floods and earthquakes, disease and old age, wars and famines all beyond our ability to “fix”?). He invites us to “abide” with Him, follow Him, lay aside our own interests, and choose the path He has marked out for us. And it’s in abiding and walking that path we get to know the God who loved us so much that He died in our place.
Our little slogan at Sweet Selah Ministries reflects our desire for everyone: Taking time to know God and love Him more and more. This ought to be the primary goal of our lives. This means reading His living words to us in the Bible. It means coming before Him in prayer, whether we feel eloquent or foolish. It means being with Him. That’s the way we get to know someone. We spend time with them.
What if King Charles read this little blog of mine and decided he’d just love to get to know me? What if he and his wife invited me to the palace to spend a few weeks with them and have long chats by the fire over cups of British tea … sharing our histories … laughing and crying … “doing life” together? If that impossible event happened, I would know the King of England instead of just knowing about him.
Let’s take time to know the King of all kings. Let’s spend our lives with Him, having long chats with Him, learning His history, and doing life with Him. There is no better way on earth to spend our time.
Father God, forgive us for our lack of regard for the phenomenal invitation You give us to know You intimately, to receive the gift of forgiveness and cleansing from sin, and to walk through life with You right by our side. Lord, help us to take the time to know You. As we know You, we will grow to love You more and more and someday be welcomed into Your kingdom. Thank You. In Jesus’ Name and only by Your grace, Amen.
You are loved,
Sharon
Sweet Selah Ministries
Vision
To inspire a movement away from the belief that “busy is better”
and toward the truth of God’s Word that stillness and knowing
Him matter most—and will be reflected in more effective work and service
Mission
To offer biblical resources and retreats that help women pause (Selah)
and love God more deeply as they know Him more intimately (Sweet)
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