Heard and Know

what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.

I read this verse and was struck by the words “heard AND known”. How many times have I heard something over and over again and yet have not grasped it or really known it? When does it switch over from words we have heard, to something we know?

I’ve thought about this a lot, as we have traveled the world and have had conversations with many   individuals asking if they know GOD. Immediately several of them can share the gospel as if it had been memorized. But how many of them really know and believe this truth beyond just hearing it?

Hebrews 8:11-12 states, No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

…to KNOW the LORD!

Once it switches from just hearing to knowing, then actions follow, foundations are set. For example, in those times we struggle, do we know that GOD is with us and in control? Or have we just heard this before and continue to worry or doubt? In those times of rejoicing do we know that we are to praise HIM? Or have we just heard this and remember to praise HIM only on Sunday’s at church? Do we know that the Bible is the living word that teaches, encourages, and is filled with truth to help us live the life we are called to live? Or have we just heard about it, and just allow others to tell us what it says, opening it occasionally on Sunday’s or at our Bible studies?

I know these are questions to ask myself. What have I heard? What do I know?

Let’s take all the amazing truth we have heard, let’s KNOW it, let’s LIVE it.

1 John 5:20