That I Might Know Him

Tonight, I read a sermon by Charles Spurgeon. It was 8 pages long, so I had to take a few breaks for my brain to comprehend the whole thing, but it was awesome. Spurgeon, if you have never heard of him was a really amazing man. He was not educated formally in seminary to be a pastor, but felt God's call in his life, and followed it. He became one the most influential preachers in England. He has a really hard life. He battled depression, many people were lying about him maliciously in the newspapers, and people would often give him death threats. I am so highly encouraged by his life, there are times in my past where I have given into despair and I never thought that I would read about such an influential servant of the Lord who struggled with that. It always seemed like there was something wrong with me, that people who loved Jesus really didn't have this problem, but they do. I do far better with this now then I did in the past, and I think Spurgeon had it more severely. Yet, you see how God used his life so greatly.

Secondly, he suffered. I am learning that if you love the Lord and live out the gospel, you will suffer. It may not have happened to you yet, but it will. This not an exciting thought for anyone, but here is the joy: we can share in His sufferings. It is not meaningless, it is not pointless, it lets us be closer to and know our Lord.

Which brings me to my third thing, his whole sermon was about knowing Him. We can know the deeds and actions of Jesus, but if we do not know Him; what is the point? You can know what someone does without really knowing them. Only when I experience Christ as my Deliverer, my Portion, my Hope, my Grace, can these things become more than words off of a page. I like the sermon because he talked about the different stages of a relationship. You can have a relationship with someone you hardly know, but there are certain things you do in order to know that person well. You want to know their thoughts, concerns, passions, dislikes, heart ache, and joy. Spurgeon was saying that His Word should point us towards wanting to know Him. In His Word we can find His heart. We always talk about our relationships with God, but how often do we forget what that is? How often do we forget that it is about knowing Him? Knowing Him with a balance of passion and intellect. I know I forget often, I hope this reminds you if you find yourself in that same position.