Do You Know God?

If you grew up in a home without God, the idea of an all-seeing Being who has lived forever may seem strange. Who is God? Is He even real? Do you know God?

If you’ve been told all your life that God isn’t real, one way to learn about Him is by observing the world around you.

There are many ideas of God or gods, and they can’t all be right. But if you start by really looking at the world in which you live, you can begin to know about God.

God and engineering

When you look at a car, house, phone or anything else invented by humans, you probably don’t think those appeared by chance and by themselves. Cars, houses and phones have changed over time. However, you don’t think phones “evolved” from earlier models without engineering help.

Ruins of houses from ancient times can still be found in archaeological digs, but that’s not proof they got there by themselves. They were created. Even though you may have never seen a car being put together, have never met the engineers involved, and probably don’t even understand everything about how cars work, this doesn’t make you believe cars just “happened.”

God and healing

Think about the last time you had a cut or bruise. Unless it was a very serious injury, it healed, right? Our bodies have a built-in healing mechanism. Maybe you put a bandage or antiseptic on it, but you didn’t fix it. If it was a small wound, you probably didn’t even think about it much. Even if you had surgery, you didn’t have stitches or bandages forever. With time your body repairs itself! It seems normal, it seems ordinary. But how our bodies heal is incredible!

If someone invented a machine that could repair itself, with parts it already had, everyone in the world would be amazed and would praise the inventor and engineers. Unlike any machine invented by man, your body is self-operating and self-repairing. Your body is so much more amazing than anything ever invented by humans.

So, if you don’t doubt houses, cars and phones were made by designers and engineers—whom you have never seen—why doubt that your body was designed and made by God, whom you have also never seen?

This is perhaps the best and first way to get to know God. He has made every living thing and the earth upon which we live.

What else can we know about God from the world He has made?

God is smart

The more you study parts of the world which haven’t been damaged by humankind, the more you can see how amazing God is. When we build things and they break, the broken pieces pile up and make a mess. We have oceans full of plastic and mounds of garbage buried or burned (and filling the air with toxic fumes) all over the earth.

But when something God made “breaks” (dies) it becomes food for other living things. In quite a short time the “pieces” become part of other living things. Plants can draw water from soil through their roots all the way up to their leaves without moving parts and without making a lot of noise. No machine comes even close to doing something like that!

If you really look at the things God has created, you will see how the mind of God is so much greater than our minds— and there are hardly words to describe it.

God is ordered

The earth rotates on its axis to give us day and night, and it goes around the sun to give us seasons. We know what to expect at different times of year, and we have calendars and clocks because of the exact timing God put into our world.

From this, scientists can predict weather, tides and many other natural events, because God made the world with order. Farmers know when to plant and harvest crops because they know what to expect at different times of year. We can be very thankful for the order in our world!

God is creative

The natural world is full of beauty and variety. There are so many kinds of animals and plants that new species are still being found. Water can be found in crystal-clear lakes, muddy swamps, roaring waterfalls and the great ocean. Minerals can form giant boulders or tiny gems.

God has given us a world full of interest and change. While we can rely on the earth turning on its axis and circling the sun to give us days and seasons, we can also enjoy sunrises and sunsets that are different every morning and evening. God is a great artist!

God speaks

While we can learn a lot about God from what He created, we also learn much more from the words He inspired to be recorded, the Bible.  

How do we know the Bible, or Scripture, is from God? As you read and study the Bible, you’ll soon realize it’s not like any other book. The Bible was written by about 40 different people, in three languages, over about 1,500 years. Even though it was written by different people in different places at different times, the overall message of salvation is the same. One writer does not disagree with another writer—even from a thousand years earlier. That is one way to know the Bible can be believed and is inspired by God!

The Bible is a combination of many books, so there is a lot to learn about God and His plan for mankind. To get to know God, read all of the Bible. Following are a few items to consider to get you started.

God is family  

God is a family of two Beings, God the Father and Jesus Christ. In John 1:1 we read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Then in verse 14 of John chapter 1 it says: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The book of John goes on to tell us all about “the Word”—Jesus Christ—and how He lived. Through His life as a human being, Jesus Christ talked about and prayed to “the Father,” the other member of the God family. And as you study God’s Word, you will come to see He and Jesus Christ are planning to add you and me to that family! This leads us to our next point:

God has a plan for everyone  

It’s really exciting to come to know how God has a plan for everyone who has ever lived. He will give everyone a chance to be part of His family, forever.

The Book of Revelation tells of a time when the dead will live again and be judged by what is written in the Bible (Revelation 20:12). This doesn’t mean an instant reward or punishment, but that all people will be given time to understand God’s truth and ways and will be given the chance to choose life—eternal life, forever.

And this brings us to another thing we can learn about God from the Bible: God is love.

God is love

Scripture says: “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8). This can seem confusing because God lets bad things—in fact, terrible things—happen all the time. But remember God has a plan for everyone.

Because of the love of God, our Savior, Jesus Christ, died for our sins (see John 3:16). He promises that when this world is finished “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4). This tells us God doesn’t want anyone to die forever (2 Peter 3:9).

The whole Bible tells the story of God’s great love for everyone. In it we can discover how God had a plan from the very beginning of creation to rescue us—before people even started rejecting God and His ways.  

All of the above is only a tiny piece of the whole story of who God is and His plan. There is so much more to learn about Him and how you can be part of His family forever. Hopefully, you want to learn more!

The very best way to learn about God is to read the whole Bible—even a little bit at a time—from the start to finish. Ask Him to help you understand and live by what you learn. You can start today!