“In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.” Psalm 76:1 ESV
Reflection: how can you know that you know someone?
Not sure about you, but this topic of “knowing” someone kind of fascinates me. Because it actually is pretty complex. The first thing to consider is what specifically cause you to think that you “know” someone? I mean, what categories do you fill in when evaluating an individual? And secondly, how quickly do you make up your mind about who they are? And thirdly, if a person whom you know does something “surprising” to you, outside of what you have made your mind up about them, do you consider their actions “weird”, or is it your knowledge of them that is incomplete? Interestingly, people can have been together for years, in a “close” friendship, or even in a marriage, and suddenly one discovers that the other is not at all what they thought.
In reality, human beings are very complex, and we only expose a portion of ourselves to others. But, this exposure is on a scale, from very transparent, to very secretive. You have probably run into people who are very transparent about themselves, talk openly about who they really are, their values and beliefs, even including their struggles and successes. Then there are others who keep a lot of secrets, about themselves or even of their past, which you may or may not ever discover about them. People that are transparent are of course more “authentic”, predictable, or “what you see is what you get” and therefore possible to get to know; while those who are secretive might surprise you at some point. They are not who they say or want you to think they are, which means you actually don’t know them, right?
So, let me ask you, in this context, how do you look at God? Is He transparent, or secretive to you?
Is it even possible for us to know God? Asaph starts out psalms 76 by exclaiming “In Judah, God is known;” Psalms 76:1a ESV. How in the world can he clam that? I mean, God, our creator, being known? And, notice that he said God is known in an area, Judah, to the people there, which means that God can be known to us, to those who seek Him and desire to get to know Him. He is not secretive, He has given us His Word, and His Son so that we can get to know Him. There is an interesting exchange between Jesus and his disciples on this point. “And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” John 14:4-11 ESV
In a same way, we can study the character of God through the Bible, through Jesus, and through his actions, or “the work”. And even today, we can observe the same “actions” of God all around us, if we pay attention. As we looked at from psalms 75, God is near. Over the past years, many have learned of secret societies, powerful groups and figures who operate in the shadows, in secret, controlling much of what we experience in the world. But why do they need to be secret? If you think about it, the devil operates in secrets, in deceptions and darkness. Even a curse is done in secret; while on the other hand, a blessing is spoken openly. “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” John 3:19-20 ESV
God is light, and there is no darkness in him. At all! He is fully transparent, His laws and character we can know. He has no secrets, nothing that will surprise us with God. He is who He says He is. We can truly get to know Him, if we want to. “But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.””John 3:21 ESV
We can know God, even if we cannot see Him. And, let us also examine ourselves. Are we living a life in the light, transparent as our Father God, or do we operate in secrets? “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14 ESV