How to know Christ

Friday of week 9 in Ordinary Time

Mark 12:35-37

There are three ways of knowing things. This is also true in knowing God.

The first one is knowing in the level of the mind.  

We have been taught that the only reason for man's existence is to know, love, and adore God.  But now, there are much more that we need to learn about life - science, arts, humanity, social sciences, technology, medicine.  We also need to know how to become rich, how to take care of ourselves above others, and how to priorities oneself and not God.

But the more we become ignorant of God, the more we put our and others' lives at risk.  The more selfish we become, the more we abuse this earth, the more we cause pandemics, social sicknesses, and so forth, and the more we put this world at an end.

Heed the words of Socrates then, "The more I know, the more I do not know."

In knowing about God, we need a huge dosage of humility.  The affects us, that spiritual pride and arrogance in claiming we already know so much about God that we feel entitled to every church service.  It should not be so.  The more we know about God, the humbler we become.  We must admit that like Peter, we would plead to the Lord, "Get away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."  Then the Lord will invite us to come closer to him, "Follow me."

The second is knowing in the level of the heart.  

There are those who claim they know God, yet, not follow him.  For the second level in deepening one's relationship is about tenderness.  Love is the core of true knowledge.  Only the heart would know if there's real relationship with the Lord.  If we claim we love the Lord, why are we still prioritizing other things as more important than him?  We should be able to leave everything behind, even our own selves to follow him.  We should utter like the apostles, "To whom shall we go?  You have the words of everlasting life."

The third is knowing in the level of being.  

This involves the commitment of one's life.  The very heart of married life is like this, when loving is not just a feeling but a commitment, that cause to carry the other even though we have lost taste of the other, when love is not returned, but the primary intention is to think only for the sake of the other, that in doing so, we forget who we are, and that the other is living in us.   Service is the key to this, to do the will of the Master, and not the Master serving me.

May we be lost in serving God.  Only in this way we can discover who we really are in this world.