I’m reminded, as I teach high school every day, that what seems very simple and easy to me can feel complex and impossible to my students. I wonder if the same is true in my conversations with you, as you try to know God.

So this blog post is for the beginner. I want to talk to the person who has come across my blog, and you want to know God. But it all seems complex and overwhelming to you. Where do you even begin?

For you I have one simple word to think about: Reconciliation. That word is your invitation into relationship with God. It’s the starting place. I suggest you read this blog post and then get out your Bible and look up the verses I’ve included below. If you’re new to the Bible, use the table of contents to find your way around. (There are 66 books that make up the Bible, so don’t feel bad that you need a map.)

Knowing God Means Reconciliation

God created the world, and then God created people who would need his counsel in order to make sense of their lives. (Genesis 1:1)

Those first two people, Adam and Eve, rebelled against that relationship and chose to go their own way and to live in the darkness of their own counsel. The punishment for this rebellion was death, and it would be a hereditary rebellion and hereditary punishment for all generations to come. (Romans 3:23)

Reconciliation means there is a relationship that has gone bad and needs serious repair.

God initiated reconciliation. The love and humility demonstrated in that action is incomprehensible.

God sent his one and only Son, Jesus, to come and take on himself all the punishment for all the generations of rebels. He shouldered all of this when he went willingly to be crucified on a Roman cross. Three days after his death, Jesus came back to life. (Romans 5:8)

And life became the gift offered to us. (Romans 6:23) Jesus says:

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  (John 14:6 NIV)

So now God’s hand has been extended to you in peace. He looks you in the eye and asks if you want to come back into relationship with him, to seek his counsel instead of your own.

Will you let him take the lead?

Reconciliation begins in your heart, where you choose to believe that Jesus is God’s agent of reconciliation, that he died to take the punishment for your sins, and that he came back to life after three days. Then it moves to your mouth. Now it’s your turn to be humble, to confess the rebellion that has ruled too long in your heart. You confess out loud, “Jesus is Lord.” You let the ramifications of that statement sink in. (Romans 10:9-10)

And so you find yourself in a restored relationship with God –fully forgiven and fully loved by him. (1 John 3:1)

You have been accepted.

Next step: Coffee and a Bible. Well, okay, so you don’t have to have coffee, but the book and the beverage seem inseparable to me. Now it’s time to listen to what the Lord has to say about who you are and who you can become. It will be a long, eternal relationship that needs time to grow.

But while you’re growing in knowing God, rest in the reconciliation. God has always wanted to be close to you.

Feel the love.

If you have decided to believe in Jesus and call him Lord today, would you mind sending me a private note on my contact page? I would like to celebrate with you and pray for you as you enter this new life.