It shouldn’t be lost on us that there are numerous people that say they are Christians, but they don’t really know God at all. They haven’t learned about His Son, Jesus Christ, and they don’t appreciate the truth that God sent His Son to die on the cross in order to save us from sin and death. Many individuals say that they believe in God, but they’ve not yet taken the time to seek the Father through His Word so they can know who He really is. This isn’t the way you treat someone that is very important to you. When it comes to our close friends and family, we have known some of them a very long time. We’ve taken the time to establish closeness by communicating with them often. Through our efforts to spend time with them, we’ve gotten to know what they like and don’t like. They count on us because we’ve shown through our actions that we support and care for them. This is what we do for those we love. It would be an offense to do less for God. In fact, we should do much more.
John the Baptist said about Jesus Christ in Matthew 3:12(NLT), “He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.” Some will find this verse challenging to digest. John the Baptist was sent to earth by God to prepare the hearts and minds of people for the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. John makes it very clear in Matthew 3:12 that Jesus Christ would be separating the chaff from the wheat, meaning the unbelieving from those that believe in and follow Christ. This is the fundamental difference in all the earth dwellers that have ever lived on this planet.
In our Father’s eyes, there are only two types of individuals, those that believe in Him with their whole hearts and those that do not. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Great Separator for his Father’s Kingdom. Luke 3:17 reminds us that Jesus Christ is cleaning up the earth through God’s process of sanctification. The saved and born again will be gathered together with him, and the unbelieving will burn with a never-ending fire. The arrow of this truth pierces through all the excuses, wrong beliefs, and riffraff that humans put up. Hebrews 4:12(ESV) declares, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” God’s Word goes straight to our cores and reveals to Him the true nature of our hearts. It reveals who we have chosen as our father, the One True Living God or satan, the father of lies.
The human heart is revealer of those that have given their lives to God and those who have not. Our Master Jesus commands us in Mark 12:30(NLT), “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” The way that you and I demonstrate our love for God is through our faith in Him. Faith anchored in our hearts is the garment that He finds acceptable to approach Him. Galatians 5:6(NLT) tells us, “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Said another way, faith gets God’s attention.We cannot approach God and please Him if we don’t have faith. Hebrews 11:6(NKJV) affirms, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
When we approach God, we must understand that He already knows what is in our hearts. He knows whether we are interested in seeking Him. It is made apparent by how much we seek to know Him through His Word. Romans 10:17(NKJV) states, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Heavenly Father makes it clear that it’s not by what you think or what I think, it’s not by philosophies or psychology; faith comes by hearing—perceiving through teaching, preaching, reading and studying—the Word of God.
Many people pray to God or try to approach Him only when they need something. They only call on Him when they’ve encountered a problem or trouble that they’ve not been able to resolve through human effort. So, they reach out to Him for His mercy and blessing. There can be no doubt that our God is a present help in the time of need, but only approaching Him in our challenging times is no way to treat our Heavenly Father. He spared not the life of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to save the entire world. He is a loving Father. He has all power in His hands, and He delights in sharing Himself and His riches with His children. In appreciation for all He’s done for us, we should spend our entire lives seeking Him and talking with Him often.
“A kid in a candy store” attitude isn’t acceptable, but this is how many individuals approach God. They want what they want, when they want it, and when He doesn’t respond to their terms, they become easily offended. The faith that pleases God requires patience and endurance. It’s trusting in God’s timing and knowing that He is willing and able to fulfill His promises.
We have no excuse for not knowing God. Through His Word, His creation, and through His precious Holy Spirit that indwells every born-again believer, God is teaching us who He is every moment. Romans 1:20(NLT) tells us, “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” He’s given us His Word, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the example of our powerful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and His wonderful creation so that we will have no doubt about His nature and goodness. It is resoundingly apparent that God wants us to know who He is and knowing who He is allows us to know who we are.
We should be growing in our knowledge of God every single day. From now into eternity God will continue to show us who He is through the boundless, limitless bounty of His love. He wants us with Him an eternity, and even an eternity isn’t enough time to show us all the magnificent aspects of His goodness. We are our Heavenly Father ‘s children, and the Father carries us in His hearts continually. Romans 8:15-16(NLT) states, “So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.” We must approach Him with faith in who He is and what He has done through Jesus Christ to save us. When the truth of this is anchored in our hearts, we will be pleasing to our Heavenly Father, and He is delighted to welcome us into His presence. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
“How to Approach God”, written for 4theChristianman.com. Copyright© 2023. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.