The Second Mile

For years I struggled with a personal image of God as Someone Who would never love or accept me. My past is rather – shall I say – colorful? He is holy while I am unholy. He is righteous while I am unrighteous. He is perfect while I am imperfect. I was the exact opposite of all that He is, and I knew it. I was sure God wanted nothing to do with me because He knew, intimately, everything I had ever thought or said or done. My view of God was based on my faulty understanding of His character, not on the truth of Who He is. Not only was I simply mistaken about His character, in fact I could not have been more wrong!

Even though my past is something to be ashamed of, I have learned that God has done more than I could have imagined to win over my heart and life. The key in changing my distorted perception was found in a constant refocusing of my thoughts, intentions and imaginations on the Word of God. I had heard all kinds of things about Him, but I didn’t actually know the truth about Him. I didn’t know Him. It’s taken me a long time, but I have begun to realize the truth of God’s character and Who He really is. This truth can only be found in His Word, the Bible.

What’s required to really know God and His character? We need to repent of (turn away from) our preconceived ideas of Who He is, and rely upon the one and only sure source of truth in discovering His character – the Bible! This is essential, because while teachers may come and go, and church doctrines can be revised, the Word of God is as unchanging as God Himself;

Psalms 119:89

Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.

Once we accept the Word of God as truth, we then need to take Him at His Word. What the Word states as truth is true, whether we ‘feel’ it’s true or not. My problem was that I didn’t feel ‘saved,’ and so I accepted my feelings and emotions as true instead of what the Word of God proclaims. It wasn’t until I persisted in reading His Word that the Holy Spirit gradually opened up my heart and mind to the reality of God’s care and compassion. That same process will yield the same results for anyone who seeks after God.

As we continue to read His Word, the Holy Spirit will continue to renew our minds from what we think is true about God to what is actually true about Him;

Romans 12:1-2

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

By constantly reading and studying His Word, the Holy Spirit is able to bring us to light and life. Books on the Bible and Christianity are good, but simply reading about God is not enough! We need to seek to know Him, not just know about Him. If all you do is just read about Him, you will never get to know Him. Pursuing the Word is to pursue God Himself. If we seek to know God through any other means then we run the risk of simply becoming religious.