Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Think back to when you were in grade school. Do you remember the students who would raise their hands immediately, and always had the right answers? Let me just tell you, I was not ever one of those. I remember being embarrassed because I genuinely didn’t have the right answers to the teacher’s questions. The students who shot their hands up, the ones who knew the right answers—they were the whiz kids, and some of us would call them “the teacher's pets.” I don't know if you've heard that before or if you use that term, but my friends and I would think, Oh yeah, they're the teacher's pet. They get called on all the time because they always have the right answer.
I love the context of our Verse of the Day. It's in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 3. It says, But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. You may think, Okay, how is that about the teacher's pet? I'm glad you asked because we're going to get into it.
Knowledge vs. Love
The context of the verse, if we look back to the verses before it, says, Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that we all have knowledge about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much, but the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes, which is our Verse of the Day. Wow. Isn't that powerful?
So many of us get consumed and captivated by, Well, I don't know as much as this person. They're way more spiritual. They're way more knowledgeable about the Bible. Well, guess what? Let me remind you, the woman at the well who knew nothing about Scripture—all she knew was Jesus changed her life when she met Him, and she ran back to the city and proclaimed that. Why? Because now she knew what real, godly love looked like for the first time in her life.
When you say, "I'm not as favored in God's eyes. I mean, look at this person. They are a prayer warrior. This person over here—they can quote scripture like nobody's business. I can't compare to them…" Remember the dynamic and power of this verse. I want to read it again. I would love for you to receive it: The person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.
Knowing God Through Love
It's not just about what you know. Because as we seek to love God in a more intimate, deeper way, guess what? We are going to actually know Him deeper, and we're going to know Him in a more powerful, dynamic way than if we actually just read words on a page. It's not just about knowing the words. It's about knowing God and loving Him.
That's why it says that He recognizes those that love Him because He's got way more in store for them, because now they're actually looking into His word. They're living out the relationship that they have with Him. It's authentic and real. It's not just making ourselves look good and important because we know a lot of words on a page. We're spending time learning about our Savior, learning our God, our Lord. That's the beauty of it.
In any kind of intimate relationship, think of a marriage, it's not about your spouse just knowing the information. You want them to love you. We want that to be a relational aspect of who we are in this dynamic, in our relationship experience with God. It's not just a matter of information. It's not just a matter of checking a box for us. It's the dynamic of actually loving God, and loving the ones that we're in a relationship with.
The Bible Above All Else
I'll close with this illustration. I was having a healthy debate with a guy from college. It was okay, we loved each other, we were just having a little disagreement. He was taking grad classes and was really excited about a certain topic, and I was trying to share Scripture. We were coming at it from different perspectives.
I'll never forget, in the course of this disagreement, he was passionately sharing different dynamics and saying different things, and he started pulling out theology books and shared what he had learned and was learning about the topic. I stopped him and I said, "You know what? Do you realize what you just did?"
I said, "You're talking about this topic. When we started off talking, you had your Bible opened on your table, and now it's covered by a lot of books of theology." That is what we can tend to do. Don't look at other people that may have higher thinking or higher knowledge as, They're better than me. The knowledge of Jesus, the knowledge of God, has to be driven from a point of love.
If you love Him, you will learn Him in a more dynamic, powerful way. I would encourage you to live into the love you have for God. Expand on that and God will open up Himself to you to know Him in deeper and more powerful ways, through His Word and through the dynamics of your relationship with Him. Seek that today.
