The God I Know

Will Ferrell and I don't have a lot in common (except wild curly hair). But sometimes I identify with Will's character in "Elf."

Have you ever had an (admittedly goofy) moment with God where you've felt like Buddy the Elf wanting to scream, "I know Him! I know Him!" with passionate childlike excitement and wonder?

Last night I was reading in Hebrews when I had one of those moments. Here's what I read (it seems a little long on screen, but I promise it's good):

This new plan I'm making with Israel isn't going to be written on paper,

isn't going to be chiseled in stone;

This time I'm writing out the plan in them,

carving it on the lining of their hearts.

I'll be their God,

they'll be my people.

They won't go to school to learn about me,

or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons.

They'll all get to know me firsthand,

the little and the big, the small and the great.

They'll get to know me by being kindly forgiven,

with the slate of their sins forever wiped clean.

(Hebrews 8:10-12 - The Message)

...the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out.

Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice,

freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable,

so that we can live all out for God.

(Hebrews 9:14 - The Message)

His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one,

canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins,

and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them.

He brought together God and his people in this new way.

(Hebrews 9:17)

The "I know Him!" moment...and other things I love about these verses

• I love the picture of God's plan carved on my heart. It makes me know that by accepting Christ, His plan and purpose are permanently engraved on my life--that my life is forever marked by this "carving" that identifies me as His.
  
  
• I love the fact that God isn't so flat or impersonal that He could be known in "Five Easy Lessons." Like you and me, He's complex. Knowing Him is an ongoing process. It allows us to continually experience newness, freshness in our relationship.
  
  
• Here's my "I know Him!" moment--I love that I get to know God firsthand--that He cares about the little and the big things in my life, that He cares about me whether or not I'm a little or a big deal in the eyes of others. Regardless of my "goodness", talent, status, or looks--He loves and forgives me. As is.
  
  
• I love that God frees me from my own dead-end efforts to be respectable. That He offers me freedom to live committed "all out" for Him...because real freedom is only found in that commitment. I realize that may sound like a paradoxical cliche, but I know it's true.
  
  
• I love that through Christ, I moved from being like a slave bound by sin and obligation to being an heir, brought together with God. What an interesting picture of the dramatic difference salvation makes in our lives.
  

I think part of the miracle of Easter--of Christianity--is the fact that not only do I get to know God, but that I get to know a God who empathizes with what it's like to be me. Jesus isn't just perfect, He's personal. He's not just all-knowing, He knows what it's actually like to live on this planet, deal with real people, feel human love, friendship, pain and betrayal.

God isn't distant, but as close as my Dad. I don't have to shy away from His presence, but can be bold like a little kid (or even an Elf), excitedly barging in just to talk or simply say, "I know Him!"