The One and Only

John 17:3 (New International Version)

³Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

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WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

"How would you identify the most important thing for your existence or well being?"

David Benner starts his book "the Gift of Being Yourself" with this question and rapidly answers the question with a statement like the one found in the Shorter Catechism. He says most people will give an answer like this but omit another important aspect of knowing God is knowing yourself.

This sounds like a narcissistic exercise like the ones found on Oprah. "To be the best you can be" or "You can do it on your own" are some of the mantras found in the pop culture of TV and media today.

This is NOT what Benner is proposing in the beginningof his book. He talks about the important of self in the development of how we know God.

A quote got my attention demonstrating what he is suggesting as we "get to know our selves,"

"There is no deep know of God without a deep knowing of self and no deep knowing of self without a deep knowing of God"

John Calvin

"The Institutes of Christian Religion"

Benner goes on to say we have ignore knowing ourselves as we get to know God and this is not presenting a complete picture of God before us .

He says,"Leaving the self out of Christian spirituality is a spirituality that is not well grounded in experience. It is therefore, not well grounded in reality"

He says this lack of self will lead to an outward piety but leave a gap between experience and reality.

I was thinking of the recent fall of Ted Haggard, the pastor from Colorado who had a view of self and God that was far from the reality of what it really was in his life.

Knowing God is not enough. Knowing God to know yourself is the focus as I explore the meaning of self in the context of knowing God in a more important and intimate way.

Benner talks about the importance of "transformational knowledge" and how this is important in developing a healthy view of ourselves and God.

More to Follow....

Lord, Help me to know you as you help me to know me. Let your Spirit reside in me so I can receive a deeper knowledge of you. Let me develop a deep knowledge of me so I may have a broad and full understanding of who you are as the Adventure in Middle Grove seeks the "me in YOU and the YOU in me