Matthew 14:1-2

Matthew 14:1-2 ESV At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”

God is very clear about who and what He is. If one reads the Bible, and takes what it says at face value, then they will have a correct understanding about God. That is not to say they will completely understand Him. God is beyond human comprehension, but He does reveal parts of Himself in ways that we can understand. 

The reason God reveals Himself is that He wants a relationship with us. We cannot have a relationship with someone we do not know. God makes Himself knowable.

Herod knew about Jesus, but he did not know Him, so he made assumptions that were false.When a person knows about God, but does not really know God, they tend to ascribe characteristics and attributes to Him that are incorrect. They create their own god in their mind that they believe is God but is just a figment of their imagination.

Some people believe in false versions of God because that is what they have been told and they never bother to check for themselves. Others want to cherry pick the aspects that they like (such as loving and merciful) but ignore the “inconvenient” characteristics (wrath and jealousy) creating a partial, and therefore false, image of God. A third group decides what they want in a god and cobble together their own fantasy.

The tragedy is that there are people in all three groups mentioned above who consider themselves Christians. They go to church, live good moral lives, probably even prayed the sinner’s prayer at some point but they have no relationship with the living God because the god they believe in doesn’t exist.

Thankfully, the solution is simple. Read the Bible and believe what it says. Believe all of it, even the parts that you don’t like. For me, I have struggled with the concept of the God I know as a loving Father ordering genocide. It happened though because the Bible says it plainly (Numbers 21:2-3, Deuteronomy 20:17, Joshua 6:17 & 21, and 1 Samuel chapter 15). Accepting that this is true helps me to understand God’s hatred of sin as well as the realization that sin will be punished. It allows me to have a more complete understanding of God and which makes my relationship with Him deeper.

Relationships take effort. This is true in family, in friendships, and even in business. There is no more important relationship than the one we have with God. Taking the time and effort to make it as strong as possible is the best investment one can make. Learn who God is. Let Him reveal Himself to you as you read the book He gave you.

Lord, I thank You for revealing Yourself in Your Word through the Holy Spirit. Grant that I may know the truth and believe it so that I can know You better.