Know God

And another thing!

 No longer shall they teach one another or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more.

So says God, in Jeremiah 31:34. That is the plan, for each of us and all of us to know God. It will happen on the last day, when we see God face to face. In the meantime, we often get to know God through a go-between.

In Israel, the people asked Moses to speak to God for them. God spoke directly to the people once, and that was more than enough for them. Priests and prophets have taken on the role. We get to know God through the Bible and through the wisdom of the church. We get to know God through our teachers, leaders in the faith, and prayer.

The plan, though, is to know God directly. The closest we get to that in this world is worship. We sit (or stand or kneel) in the presence of God and God’s people, knowing that God is God and we are not. We might know God directly through prayer, especially contemplative prayer and other ways that we listen to what God’s Spirit is saying.

In this life, we need each other. We need structure and support for this greatest relationship of our lives. As we grow closer to God, we grow closer to that day when we will know God fully, even as God knows us.

As you tackle this week of your life, how do you plan to rest in God’s presence? When can you take a walk and see what God has made? When can you close your eyes, breathe in the Holy Spirit, and remember who you are, just for a minute? I’m at Lutheridge this week, taking time to pray with my colleagues. I hope you’ll take time to pray, too. Sit in heaven for a few minutes in the middle of this earthly life.