7  I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. -Jeremiah 24:7

Can a human get ever so close to the Almighty that he can, even in a small measure understand the heart of God?

There are barriers which stand between us and a knowledge of God’s heart. The first is that we don’t know God. And if we claim with arrogance that we know God and we can know God by our own mechanism and scheme, we end up with the god that we want instead of the God who is.

Consider this: We were made in the image of God. We cannot understand the heart of God until we first understand that man’s heart (our heart) has been darkened by his or her rebellion against God. In the days of Noah, “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.” (Genesis 6:5,6)

A second barrier is to overcome our self-pre-occupation. God said, “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) We must focus upon God, strive to see life from His perspective, and understand how different His view is of our lives and problems and circumstances.

The third barrier is our ignorance of the nature and character of God. The prophet Hosea wrote, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” (Hosea 4:6) His lament is far more descriptive of our generation than any one in recent years.

There is another barrier which must be crossed. It is our lack of knowledge of His written Word, and in the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. A relationship with Jesus Christ requires an understanding of God’s Word, the Bible.

Can we really know the heart of God?

Indeed, we can. Knowing the heart of God brings all of life into focus, and the path of discovery is the way of life itself. Remember what Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

Pastor Gideon Gallo is Administrative Pastor at Gladbrook Global United Methodist Church, 715 Lincoln St., Gladbrook. He can be reached at 641-473-2025, or gladbrookmethodist@windstream.net.