The more we know God, the more our capacity grows to respond to Him in love and gratitude. We cannot love or follow one whom we do not know. In Ephesians 1 Paul mentions his prayers for the saints, that he unceasingly prays they grow in their wisdom and knowledge of Jesus (Ephesians 1:15–23). In his letter to the Colossians, Paul offers a similar sentiment, praying that they may be “filled with the knowledge of His will” and that they continually increase “in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9–10). To love God and follow Him, we must first know Him. Only then can we properly love ourselves and others.
God the Creator
Who is this God who loves us and gave Himself up for us? King David reflected on this question, and on the nature of man in relation to God, in one of his most famous psalms:
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him? (Psalm 8:3–4)
With modern technology, we can see much more of the “heavens” than David ever did; yet, based on the limited information he had available at the time, he still was able to recognize the grandeur of the universe. God has made great and beautiful things. He has displayed His “splendor above the heavens” (Psalm 8:1). The beauty, grandeur, and splendor of the cosmos seems to make humanity almost insignificant. Yet, recognizing that it is God who made all of this, that He upholds everything in the universe by the power of His Word (Hebrews 1:3), makes David’s answer to his own question all the more profound and mysterious:
Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:5–6)
God has given human beings a special place. He has crowned us with glory and majesty. We are made in His image (Genesis 1:27), and He loves us.
Lover of Our Souls
The Creator of heaven and earth is also the lover of our souls, as Scripture reveals:
And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:5–8)
God’s love is abundant and is being poured on those who have trusted in Him. He who made all things became fully human, and Christ died on a hill that He created at the hands of those He Himself had made in His image. He did this so that we who were dead in our trespasses and sin might have hope and life in Him. This love is not something we generate within ourselves, but it is God’s own love poured out within and upon us. His love is caused by Him, and it is sacrificial.
Our Response
The Creator of the universe loves us, and we are called to abide in His love. As we abide in His love, it is perfected in us (1 John 4:16–19). We have nothing to fear, for we are secure in the love of the Father.
With David, let us praise the God of love who has given us Himself in Jesus Christ:
O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:9)
This study is based on “Facet 1:Relational Spirituality” found in Ken Boa’s book Conformed to His Image: Biblical, Practical Approaches to Spiritual Formation, rev. ed.
Missed a part in this series? You can catch up here.
