by L.W. (Bud) Elford

Galatians 4:9 says, “Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God....” When a person humbles himself before God and in deep repentance calls on His Son for salvation, a process of “knowing” God begins.

From our point of view, God's “knowability” is above all His other attributes. He is a real person and, as such, is perfectly knowable by another person. Visibility has nothing whatsoever to do with personality, but God’s invisible nature does, however, cause us problems. If not corrected, these problems can cause poor relations with God while also hurting Him deeply.

Consider ... you have invited Him in as Lord, but do you ever eat, go shopping, retire or rise without acknowledging His presence? You would acknowledge any other guest. If you are talking to Him and nod off to sleep, do you apologize? You would to a visible guest.

Do you habitually pour out your requests to God expecting satisfactory answers, yet you have not visited with Him as a person? A deeply hurt woman once told me about her grandchildren who continually came to her with needs, but never had time to visit her. Look at the model prayer in Acts 4:24-30. Five verses are spent in visiting with God in worship, two in making requests.

Is God a real person to you? You can tell by how you are treating Him. Treating any person as a non-person is a violation of their basic nature and inflicts hurt at the deepest level. A simple apology and changed treatment corrects this error.

Reprinted from "Just a Minute": 73 'MM' Devotionals.
Write or call today for your free copy.

Bud Elford spent his entire adult life as an NCEM missionary, and was an influential leader for our Mission. He passed away September 20, 2008, at the age of 83. Read our article "Bud Elford: Impact & Influence in God's Work" (see Northern Lights archives).