People have different views about God. “There is only one god”, “There are many gods”, “Nature is god”, “There is an interesting and powerful being who created the universe, but has no contact with it”, “Man is god”, “There is no god”, “Knowledge of god is impossible, even if he did exist”..... Every view is different and contradicting each other. Do all these paths lead to the same God? Do we really know God?

1. Do we know God?
“We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God
whose it is and who runs it.”- J I Packer
People have different views about God. “There is only one god”, “There are many gods”,
“Nature is god”, “There is an interesting and powerful being who created the universe, but
has no contact with it”, “Man is god”, “There is no god”, “Knowledge of god is impossible,
even if he did exist”..... Every view is different and contradicting each other. Do all these
paths lead to the same God? Do we really know God?
It’s not difficult to believe that God exists! Looking at the stars, understanding the
vastness of the universe, observing the wonders of the nature- all these point to an
Intelligent Creator God. Deep within us, we have all pondered on the life beyond this world.
People throughout history- in all culture, all civilizations and all continents believe in the
existence of some kind of god (there must be someone or something causing this belief!).
Everyone has a sense of right and wrong. Murder, stealing, lying, immorality, etc. are
universally rejected. Did not this sense of right and wrong come from a holy God? If we
lay aside all our limited imaginations, and seek sincerely to know ‘who God is’, we can know
Him. God created man with a purpose to know Him. What do we know about Him?
i. God is eternal God has neither beginning (starting point or birth date) nor an end
(death). So we are not God!
ii. God never changes As we grow older, our behaviours, interests, physical strength,
knowledge, attitudes change. But God has no mood swings. He will never be
stronger or weaker. His wisdom and knowledge will never increase or diminish. God
can be trusted!
iii. God is all knowing We make mistakes and learn. But God knows everything (past,
present and future) at the same time. God needs no advisor!
iv. God is all powerful God created all things from ‘nothing’ and sustains them by His
word. He is the ruler of all nature and history. Nothing is impossible with God!
v. God is present everywhere He is not limited to one temple or one geographical
area. Man cannot hide from God’s presence. God observes not only our outward
actions but also our inward thoughts and motives!
vi. God is holy and incomparable We cannot compare the greatness of God with
anything (nor even idols, imagination). God always does right. God is separate from
everything that is sinful and evil-He cannot tolerate sin!

2. vii. God is perfect God has no flaws. God can never be guilty of His actions. He can
never go wrong!
viii. God is faithful God is truth and good. He never deceives anyone. Though we do
wrong Him, by our actions, still He is good to us!
ix. God is Justice God is supreme and judges every man according to his actions.
There is no fault in His judgements!
x. God is love More than anyone in this world, God loves us the most! His love is pure
and unconditional. He wants us to know Him and have a relationship with Him!
We have a very short life to know God. All we are interested in is to get blessings from
God to fulfil our wishes and desires. Still God is reaching out to us. Having a relationship
with God alone can fill the emptiness of our life. God Himself prepared a Way for it. It is
the only Way to reach Him.
GOD Himself took the form of man and came to this world. He was called JESUS CHRIST.
He loved the world very much. He died on the cross for our sins and rose up from the dead
on the third day. GOD prepared a way for us to reach HIM, by taking upon Himself our
sins and bearing the punishment of death for our sins, in our place! Those who accept and
believe in this work of God can have a relationship with Him.
There are different views about God in this world. Unless we know God by His own way, we
will be confused and hopeless. God is incomparable and impossible to know with the limited
human mind. But God loves us and has created us with a purpose to know Him. He made
Himself known to us by taking a form of man. He lived among us, and through His death
removed the barrier of sin which separated us from God. He wants us to be completely,
fully forgiven. It is our decision whether to accept the forgiveness he offers, by moving
toward him, asking him to forgive us and enter our lives. This is all about Knowing God!
By- Angela Thomas
B.Ed First Sem 2016-18
Department of Continuing Education & Extention,
Barkatullah University Bhopal