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Knowing God

The foundation of almost anything from buildings to business models lays the groundwork for what that structure will become. A company with a weak foundation of ethics will inevitably fail. A building with a weak foundation sags and collapses under its own weight. Starting with a solid foundation gives us the reason "why" in a process and allows us to move forward with confidence and hope. This is the same with our relationship with God. When our relationship is rooted in knowing God the Father, not just knowing about him, our foundation has the strength to endure.

Over the years I have lived in many different houses. Each house was built during different times with varying building standards. Our current house was built in the late eighties. When we first moved in several years ago I noticed a slight bow in the first floor. It soon became clear that there was a slight problem with the foundation. At first you don't notice everything that a foundation problem impacts. Over time you begin to notice things like windows and doors that don't close correctly or at all. Cracks develop where they shouldn't. These may seem like minor inconveniences but over time they can become big problems. Our relationships with God and others are much the same. If we do not start out at a place of trust, living out of a strong foundation, the cracks begin to develop and what once may have seemed solid begins to crumble. 

In school or training for a job or any lesson we learn it is important to experience the whole process. In recent years I have found that an instructor or mentor can talk to me about a process at work repeatedly, but until I actually walked through it myself the process remained abstract. Our relationship with God is similar. We can read His word or listen to sermon after sermon but until we truly enter into a deep intimacy with God we are just scratching the surface. When we experience this intimacy with God we are building the foundation for our life. The impact can be seen in the slightest detail, even aspects of our lives that we wouldn't suspect. 

Knowing about God and knowing God are two very different things. We can read biographies about historical figures. We could even be considered an expert about that particular person, but we would never know them like their families or loved ones did. With God we can read about him, but until God the Father is revealed to us through the work of the Son by the Holy Spirit, what we know about God are simply facts.

Knowing God in deep relationship impacts every aspect of our lives. It is foundational to who we are. When we begin to see cracks in our lives, it could mean that we have some foundation work to do.  

Victorious

"O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?"

 1 Corinthians 15:55

There was blood everywhere. The ground was covered with dark, red blood. You could see it staining the rubble, the broken pieces of what was once an Egyptian church. This was the news the day after Palm Sunday. Two churches bombed, 44 killed. I have no frame of reference for this, but I'm imagining a unbound fear runs freely. I've heard Easter services are cancelled.

And I wondered about this victory? 

A few months ago, a different bomb went off in the lives of a family I know. A phone call told me a young man I cared about had died, an overdose the cause. There was an overwhelming anguish in my spirit. And then memories; he knew Jesus, he was baptized, he was loved. I told myself, "He is safe now."  And while I know there is victory, it's hard to say it. It's too early to see it.

It can take a long time for our hearts to catch up with our heads to catch up with our souls. Graciously, God is patient with us. We know Jesus has won. He has utterly vanquished the sting and permanency of death forever. We know this, and yet, death hurts us deeply. It's violent separation can be unbearable. 

It is for this very reason, this separation from our loving Creator God, that Christ died, crushing the eternal sting of death, giving us the victory to live in this day. That's the victory - with Christ, there is no more separation, there is no more death for those who call on him as savior and friend.

So while our hearts catch up with our heads and catch up with our souls, we can cry out, stand up to our fears, and move on in our grief, because Jesus Christ won. He is our Victory!