Knowing God.

     "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
                                         John 17:3NASB

     Many individuals have an inadequate view of God. They view Him as someone who exists to meet their needs, to bless them at times, to help them out of problems, even to cancel the guilt of their sin.
     It is true that God cares for us. The scriptures do tell us to cast our cares upon Him (1 Peter 5:7). Jesus tells us to ask for our daily provision (Matt 6:11), and also the forgiveness of our sins (Matt 6:12). Jesus teaches us to ask, seek, and knock. In other words, we are to seek God in prayer for our needs. God desires us to depend upon Him in faith for all good things (Matt 7:7-11).
     We fall short in that we view knowing God as a means to an end. In other words our asking, seeking, and knocking merely consists in our seeking something other than God. We seek Him for something He can do for us, but we don't seek Him.
     Look carefully at what it says about faith and seeking in the book of Hebrews.

     And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
                                     Hebrews 11:6 NASB

     True faith believes in the existence of God, and seeks to know Him. This is not the same as seeking what He can do for us, it is seeking Him. We cannot be pleasing to God without this kind of faith.
     We can relate to this in our own everyday lives. We understand that it is shallow to be exited to see a favorite family member at Christmas time because of the expensive gifts that they always give. Likewise we can see through the insincere apologies often given just to get out of the "doghouse".
     God wants us to seek Him. He is the highest good that we can possess. To know Him intimately is the true longing of every soul. He desires the relationship, the communion, the love, of a soul that is completely infatuated with Him, not for what He can do, but for Him alone.
     See, this is the point of the new birth. this is why Jesus died for us. It is to make the way for us to come back to God. It is so that we can be reconciled to Him, enjoy the intimate fellowship with Him that we have been created for. Through the new birth, we are forgiven, and delivered from the stain and power of sin, which is what cuts us of from God.
     It is in this union with God, through Jesus Christ that we have the fellowship and blessings of His presence. Knowing God is what it is all about (John 14:23, 17:20-21; 2 Peter 1:2-4; Philippians 3:7-14).