ARE YOU CURIOUS TO KNOW MORE ABOUT JESUS?

 “And this, so that I may know Him [experientially, becoming more thoroughly acquainted with Him, understanding the remarkable wonders of His Person more completely] and [in that same way experience] the power of His resurrection [which overflows and is active in believers], and [that I may share] the fellowship of His sufferings, by being continually conformed [inwardly into His likeness even] to His death [dying as He did]; 11 so that I may attain to the resurrection [that will raise me] from the dead.” – Philippians 3:10-11 (AMP).

What does it take to make you curious? If you’ve ever considered the life of Jesus Christ as described in the New Testament gospels, surely, there is something to pique your curiosity. The truth is, curiosity and questions come rather naturally to human beings. The real test of our character is what we do with that curiosity and the questions it engenders.

Jesus is knowable and relational.  We can interact with Him, know Him and love Him personally and deeply, just as we would with a close friend. He is not a distant, stoic God.  He is not just a religion or a concept. Although we can’t see Him, through His Spirit He makes Himself known to us. Our job is to be constantly curious and working to know Him better.

Growing in the knowledge of God means we are learning more about Him, which is the most satisfying, uplifting, edifying, expanding, and glorious task we can ever undertake. Psalm 100:3 says, “Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Nothing is more important than having the desire to learn all we can about God. According to Philippians 3:10, that was the deepest aspiration of the apostle Paul. He summarized his life’s purpose in one phrase: “I want to know Christ…”

Knowing God is good and absolutely essential; knowing God is more than knowing facts about Him. It’s like trying to get to know your wife by reading her resume. Or, as someone has said, it’s “like having an understanding of all the intricacies of the postal service based on one’s ability to lick a stamp.” Or one relevant to today is to think you know a person and thus judge their character and competence, based solely on their political party affiliation.

We want to go deeper. We want to discover who God is and be drawn into a deeper, more personal relationship with the God of the universe—a relationship that will enable each of us to confidently display God’s strength in life’s most challenging circumstances. When you want to deepen your relationship with God, you need to move beyond head knowledge to know Him well enough to seek personal encounters with Him. We want to be constantly curious. Daniel 11:32 (TLB) tells us, “…But the people who know their God shall be strong and do great things.”  

Discussion Questions:

1. Would you say that the purpose of life has to do with knowing God? Why or why not?
2. Why is sincerely following a religion not the same as knowing and loving God?
3. What areas of your life should see greater change because you know God?