Wider Is Not Deeper

"Whoever says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person." 
1 John 2:4 (NIV)

I sat in seminary under some of the most educated men I have ever met. They had PhDs in theology, could read Greek and Hebrew fluently, explain every doctrine, and fill a classroom with information about Him. But I don’t believe some of them knew God at all. 

I learned something sitting in those chairs. The width of your knowledge about God is no gauge of the depth of knowing Him personally.

John writes in 1 John 2:4, "Whoever says, 'I know him,' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person." John says the proof isn’t what you know. It’s whether you obey. Knowing God is not a credential you earn through study. It is a relationship that shows up in how you actually live.

So where are you learning but not following? Maybe you know what God says about forgiveness but there is still someone you are refusing to forgive. Maybe you know what He says about prayer, but you haven't prayed in days. Or perhaps you understand His command to make disciples, but you leave that activity for the pastor. Pick one area, and don't study it this week. Obey it.

That’s where knowing about God ends and knowing Him begins.

Prayer: Lord, I don't just want facts about You. I want to know You in a way that changes how I live. Where I've been substituting learning for following, forgive me. Give me the courage to obey what I already know. In Jesus' Name, Amen.