“If someone claims, ‘I know God,’ but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.” (1 John 2:4, NLT)
Here is the essence of knowing God: Obedience to His commandments.
It is not doing great things in God’s name that shows we know Him. It is not acquiring volumes of knowledge about God that shows we know Him. It is not the depth of our sacrifice that shows we know God. To know God is to obey His commandments.
God’s commandments are to love God with all our being; and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Please see Mark 12:30-31.)
To be sure, to do great things in God’s name; learning all we can about Him; and sacrificing ourselves for His name’s sake are honorable ambitions. However, unless these and other works begin at God’s initiative, our labor and our accomplishments are in vain.
Let complete obedience to our Creator and our God be our daily goal. It is only through obedience that we become like Him. – Luther
Daily Encouragement 