To Understand and Know

My eldest son and I recently traveled to Colorado to attend a special broadcast event. It was a truly blessed time as he and I found moments to enjoy one another’s fellowship and explore the area. We found an opportunity to rediscover one of my favorite hiking spots and marvel at the beauty of the vast Rocky Mountains. If you are a regular reader, you know I grew up in “The Centennial State” and always enjoy visiting whenever possible.  

The last time I ventured down those same hiking trails, I was just eighteen and had decided to take my mom on a quick nostalgic trip to the spot. At the time, I was about to head off to college and assumed it would be the last chance I would ever have to take in the unique sunsets that bless that particular canyon. Now, returning to the same place with my own eighteen-year-old, I couldn’t help but recognize the significance of the moment. So much has happened in the past couple decades. The last time I traversed those dirt paths, I was still an insecure and frightened young adult with barely a glimpse of how the world works. Since that time, my heavenly Father has graciously allowed me to enter His presence and discover a furious love far beyond my ability to describe. 

Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 9:23-24, ESV

We all know that our modern culture misplaces enormous value on personal achievements and financial or artistic accomplishments. The world christens successful business billionaires, for example, as geniuses while esteeming Hollywood actors as almost godlike. We envy and look up to those we think immortal, free from the plagues of the original fall. We spend much of our personal time comparing our own life performance to those we deem our peers. This preoccupation is quite evident as we regularly witness millions obsessed with constructing false online personas and sharing innumerable pointless selfies. However, underneath the dubious social media happiness, we find a sad and sickened world. 

In the book of Jeremiah, we read of a prophet who actively rebuked and warned a similar generation. He spent the majority of his time attempting to desperately awaken his contemporaries from the din of self-congratulation. The children of Israel were a special people, and they knew it. The stories of how God singled them out as His own personal favorite filled their taunts and boasts. They regaled one another with tales of how blessed they were and the riches their ancestors had accumulated for them, and so fashioned a new god out of a false spiritual testimony. However, the prophet warned them, as the pages of the Bible warn us today, “let not the rich man boast in his riches…”

It’s been twenty-five years since I hiked the area around my childhood home. Some might say I’ve accomplished quite a bit since then. There is a great deal that, from a worldly and temporal mindset, I could possibly brag about. But this would be to mistake personal achievement with spiritual transformation and fleeting accomplishments with the righteousness of filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). During our Lord’s short time on this planet, He demonstrated what is truly worth boasting about when He declared, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me (John 6:38).”

How much of your life can you honestly say has been dedicated to the will of God? If we’re truthful, most of us would have to answer, very little indeed. From the moment we rise each morning to the silly things which preoccupy our minds, we prove every day that we don’t have much of a clue. Some of us like to revel in defending poor life choices, while others boast of fleeting high positions and accomplishments. We brag about our children and flaunt our possessions as if somehow we’re extra special or singularly blessed. However, the truth is, we seldom understand the heart of God and simply do not truly know Him. To understand and know Jesus Christ remains by far the most precious gift we could ever obtain. No amount of bible study or fervent prayer will bring you closer to this knowing. It is a gift of the Holy Spirit. To know Him is to be known by Him and what distinguishes a mere friend of God from a child of God.

My sons and I share a special relationship. They know me as I them. While their young minds can’t yet fully comprehend the depths of our shared connection, our mutual relationship will deepen according to His perfect will as they surrender to God’s hand in their lives. The prophet Jerimiah outlined perfectly what it means to understand and know our Savior. He is the Lord who shows, “…steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.” The key here are the words “in the earth.” Christ is here, among us, and possibly in your heart if you daily allow Him to enter. He is not some pious concept, American tradition, or personal weapon to wield when we don’t get our way. Our Savior is alive and living in our midst. Those who have been crucified with Him, know Him, and understand who He is. Only they who have stepped out into a broken world and allowed themselves to be humiliated for Jesus, have the right to be called a Son of the Most High. All others are imposters, though possibly with a good assortment of Bible verses readily at hand. 

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV

Over the years owning and operating small businesses, I’ve learned that just when I think everything is running smoothly something inevitably becomes complicated. The principles of finance or employee management often quickly turn upside down and daily serve to keep me on my knees. The same is true in our walk with Jesus. Just when we think we understand His word, teaching, or the way He works in our lives He throws us a curve ball in an effort to drive us closer to His arms. He keeps us humble, completely dependent on Him in all things, and never lets us settle with our self-righteous boasting. In moments such as these, when our frailty, stupidity and weaknesses are most evident, our Lord reveals Himself to our hearts. It becomes time to boast in our weaknesses. Our lack of wisdom, slowness to learn, and shortcomings become opportunities to point to the scars His loving cross has etched into our hearts. My dear friends, let us learn to boast of how God has saved us from the miserable wretches we are. Let us brag only in this, that we understand and know His character and, through His death on the cross, have been ransomed from selfish slavery. To understand and know Him is to be convinced each and every hour of just how much we need Him. To boast in our weakness is to bring delight to His heart and gain the right to be called a child of the kingdom.