O God, I want to know You more. I don’t want to be drawn away after shallow issues or religious superficialities – I want to know You. Help me Lord, help me to see You for who You are, draw me to pursue a real knowledge of You.
People just aren’t interested in hearing about God Himself. Sure people are usually more than willing to hear about the benefits the Lord provides or the blessings of heaven or even what His commands are for our lives. We want godly principles, godly values, godly blessings and gifts but not necessarily God. In church we cling to the traditions, we enjoy the fellowship, but most often we leave without actually coming face to face with God Himself. When was the last time you spent any length of time pondering who God is? What a sad reality that God has become an afterthought.
“One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to meditate in His temple.” (Ps. 27:4)
What stirs inside of you as you hear these words: “God is beautiful!” When we see something that is beautiful, we are compelled to look at it, we even find ourselves staring. In some things we find great joy in gazing upon their beauty. On starry nights we survey the glowing expanse and are overcome with wonder. A beautiful sunset calls our attention so much that we even point out it’s artistry to others. We photograph other forms of beauty that we see, in an attempt to capture the beauty for further enjoyment at a later time. But when we think of God, what is our inward response? Sadly, for many it is indifference or even boredom.
We blush when we see a person of the opposite gender we find beautiful because we can’t help but stare. We blush because we feel ashamed of our prolonged glance at someone we have no claim to. We blush and the shame eventually drives us to look away. O but if we can steal just one more glance we greedily sneak one in. When we look at God I don’t believe we feel ashamed for gazing upon His lustrous beauty, instead our true shame is that we just simply don’t see the perfectly majestic beauty that He exudes.
Why then do we sing? Why then do we attend services of worship? For what do we praise Him? O how it must grate on the ears of God to hear people praise Him with lips that would never kiss His face. What we need in our day is fresh insight into the nature and character of God. We could all do with a large dose of God Himself. Enough with biblical principles, the useless traditions and empty religion – we need God. It is high time that we stop pretending at faith and actually dig-in to know God. No one has ever been disappointed by what they found in Him.
God indeed is beautiful, He is downright striking! He is not beautiful because I, or some other pastor, says He is. And honestly you will never experience the greatness of His beauty by simply hearing it from me or anyone else. It is something you have to see and discover for yourself. I can, however, tell you where to see it. If you are willing I can tell you where to look. Open your bible to the book of Psalms. Begin reading those psalms paying very close and specific attention to what is says about God Himself. As you read you will find that those 150 short songs are a wealth of information about His character, but more than that, they paint for you an immensely detailed portrait of an astoundingly beautiful God that is striking to behold. After that task turn to the Gospels and read about Jesus Himself. He is the exact representation of God’s character and substance (Col. 1:15, 19; 2:9). Above all, whatever scriptural route you take, look for an understanding of who God is – seek for it with diligence. As you do, your appreciation for His beauty will grow and grow until you are simply enamored with God Himself. O that this would be the final state of all who call upon His name.
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