How can we know God?
by Norma Koehne
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The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple (Psalm 19:7).
As is appropriate through this time of Epiphany, this week, God’s word has gradually revealed who he is. We have seen that Jesus is the true God and true man and gives us the very best in abundance. God graciously and freely robes us with salvation and his righteousness. God loves us with an everlasting love and unfailing kindness. We are blessed with the Holy Spirit as our guide and with the word of God. God assures us that he will never forget us and has a place for us in heaven.
How do we know these truths? Here, we can know God in two ways: through the majesty of nature and through the beauty of his word.
The heavens can show us God’s glory through the myriad of stars in the night sky and the perfection of our planet to sustain life. No-one can escape the glory of the heavens; it is clear to all the peoples of the earth. They tell us of the power and majesty of God. The glory, sustaining heat and light of the sun shows the sustaining work of the creator and his care for his creation. Its constancy in rising and falling shows us the constancy of our gracious God. But the heavens cannot reveal all we need to know about God. We need God’s word.
All of God’s word is described in the psalm as a perfect law, a sure testimony, right statutes, pure commandments, true and righteous promises. I just want to look at the word of God as a sure testimony. It is the truth, something we can trust and know that through it, God has revealed himself in his fullness as our loving and saving God and has revealed to us his good and gracious will for our lives and the world he has created.
The world mocks God’s word, so we need to guard against the tendency of becoming ashamed of its simplicity and thinking we are too clever in our modern age to accept the truths in the word. The word of God is perfect, teaching us, converting us, making us wise, rejoicing our hearts and enlightening us.
Gracious God, we thank you that you have revealed yourself to us as the sustaining creator of our world. We praise you for your goodness in giving us your word, which tells us that you are above all, our loving and saving God. Help us immerse ourselves in your word and let it dwell in our hearts and lives, giving us joy and the assurance of your love. Amen.
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