In the early stages of most relationships, time is set aside for the individuals involved to get know each other from a very basic level and as time progresses in the relationship the individuals unconsciously and consciously get to know one another very well. Knowing someone in a relationship could be built in so many ways, this includes the activities you do together, conversations, hanging out and even through observing one another. It is important individuals in a relationship spent time and resources to know one another for it is in this that establishes the relationship and allows it flourish. When you know someone very well, you are able to do what pleases them and love them as you ought to. Everyone is different and the way we perceive love is also very different. Our Lord Jesus Christ confirms our love towards Him when we obey Him (John 14:15)

In today’s devotion, the word of God is drawing our hearts to the need to know God and for God to know us. Our knowing God and God knowing us builds our relationship with Him. Our faith in God becomes personal and it builds our faith because God reveals more of Himself to us every day as we set our minds to know Him.

Our text today is from the gospel of St. Matthew in our Lord’s Jesus Christ’s own words.

²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ – Matthew 7:21-23

This is one of the popular verses you will hear if you are aspiring to become a preacher or serve in the ministry to sort of warn you not go astray. But in today’s devotion, as I meditated on the verse, the Lord laid on my heart the very essence of pursuing a relationship with Him regardless of your pursuit in life.

Not Everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, Lord’

Beloved, our Lord Jesus Christ is Lord and so calling Him by who He is, does not make you stand out. The Bible allows us to know that our Lord Jesus Christ is supreme over all (Colossians 1:15-23). Jesus Christ in His words to the people says to them that declaring me as “Lord” is who I am already and so that is not enough to give you access to the kingdom of heaven. I think about this phrase this way, that knowing the name of my father and all the information about him does not allow you into his life as his child. It takes more than having information about someone to really know them. In this Christ is telling you and me that it takes more than calling on His name, it takes more than reading and knowing about him, it takes more than showing a form of religiosity. Our call unto God should be more than just religious practices rather, it should be a call to unto God as our Father. Calling God as our Father shows that you know Him and have a relationship with Him. Religious practices are good, it allows us to build discipline and self-control in our devotion to God but in all of this the most important part is the heart that commits to these practices. Beloved when we pray it is not in the fancy vocabulary that God heeds to but it is the heart that prays that God heeds to. Our commitment to God should involve our totality as human offered unto Him, everything about us must speak God, not just our lips.

God needs our heart to back up our words

‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’

Your being is as important as your doing. Beloved do not neglect the other, it is as important to commit to doing the works of God as it is to be a child of God. As people who are filled with the compassionate love of Christ, we can often find ourselves so caught up in the doing which stems from a place of caring that we forget to be children of God. God did not make us be His slaves, He made us be His children (John 1:12). In as much we are to serve one another, we are also called to love God with everything that we are. We cannot miss it, Beloved. Let our focus and all that we are stand on God and Him alone. Christ is telling us something very important in this message, that ” Do not neglect to pursue God over pursuing His works.” An example could be a spouse who just focuses on one aspect of the responsibilities as a spouse to provide financially and buries themselves in work and neglect all other things that are important in being a spouse. Such a spouse misses out on so many blessings and enjoyment of being a part of the family, the role to provide for your family does not mean neglecting to spend time with them to play and laugh together. God wants to have fun with you and enjoy you as His child. Spending time with God should be enjoyable and amazing not just receiving anointing to keep on being busy, God needs you to obey His will as well to be His child.

‘I never knew you

These four words are to be what each believer never have God say to them. Every day of our lives is a privilege that has been given to us to pursue knowing God and Him knowing us. Someone might ask I thought God is omniscient which means He knows everyone and everything. Yes, it is true, God is knows everything, He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10). Knowing as used in this Bible context is different from mere knowing about someone or something. This knowing stands out as knowing someone like you do in a marriage where you become intimate with this person. Beloved God desires to know us as we also ought to know Him, this is intimacy with God. Knowing God is abiding in Him by obeying His word, yielding to the Spirit of God and always and always loving God as you love others in Christ. Let’s set our hearts to pursue knowing Him that He will know us, establishing a deep relationship with Him that makes our faith in God personal. It is important that we do this also to establish our faith on the solid foundation that no one can deceive us about our faith when we can truly confirm that God is real to us.

I pray that today, the word of God has quickened you to pursue knowing God and Him knowing you above all priorities in your life. I say this to myself that God is the reason why I am and in all things, He must be first for He is the reason. Seek to know God my dear one, not only as a ticket to make it to heaven but as a true desire to know the One who dearly loves us that He has given Himself to redeem us from sin.

Stay blessed and May God always and continue to bless you.