<\/p>\n
\u201cBlessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart\u201d (Psalm 119:2).<\/p>\n
THE TRUTHS THAT OPEN UP OUR RELATIONSHIP TO GOD ARE WON NOT SO MUCH BY THE CLARITY OF OUR INTELLECT AS BY THE PURITY OF OUR HEART. The doors of wisdom, through which we must pass to see God, are not broken down by the brute force of a strong mind alone. \u201cThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding\u201d (Proverbs 9:10). The intellect must be in good working order, of course, for its work is indispensable. But it is the pure heart that opens the door and keeps us on the path to God. \u201cBlessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God\u201d (Matthew 5:8).<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s be careful, however, not to diminish the importance of rational thinking where God is concerned. We dare not de-emphasize the intellect, for there is no such thing as a right relationship with God except on the basis of propositional truth. The God of the Scriptures is always the \u201cGod of truth\u201d (Psalm 31:5). But what determines whether the intellect gets the information it needs to make its approach to God? More than mere curiosity to know<\/em> about Him, is it not the sincerity of our desire to serve<\/em> God?<\/p>\n Many are the reasons why people might be interested in religion and pursue the idea of God intellectually. Entire lifetimes have been spent in this study by people who never came to know Him in the here and now, and will not see Him in the hereafter (Matthew 7:21-23). The truth is, diligent study only becomes the diligent seeking of God when the intellect is driven by a pure heart. And whether we\u2019ve actually sought God or not is evidenced more by the tokens of discipleship than those of scholarship. As Elbert Green Hubbard said, \u201cGod will not look you over for medals, degrees, or diplomas, but for scars.\u201d<\/p>\n We know these things, of course, but we forget them. We need to be reminded that seeking God is not an exclusively intellectual endeavor. Perhaps because it is easier just to think about God than to be an actual disciple, we need to be warned that God is more than an idea.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the day of judgment we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done\u201d (Thomas \u00e0 Kempis).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n