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To Know Him is to Love HimAs a youth growing up on a farm, I was aware that God existed by observing the outward manifestation of His creation around me. Since I only knew of Him objectively as the Almighty Creator, much of my living was an outward religious behavior of striving to be good and to do good, which usually resulted in frustration and disappointment. According to my own reasoning I thought that being good was the mandate for entering heaven. Later, after entering college, I came to know this Creator as my Lord and Savior by accepting and receiving Him into my spirit. What followed was a joy, peace, and a rest during this crucial interval of my life, but it quickly disappeared in a short time as I attempted to live a perfect and proper Christian life. Once more I plunged into the disappointing and discouraging realm of self-effort. Inside me was a seeking for something satisfying and real which could not be found in many good Christian activities, even in becoming a missionary to serve the Lord, which I did. Surely this was the best thing a person could do for God, I thought. Through a series of failures I was enlightened by the Lord's mercy that my endeavoring was in vain. At this very juncture this One revealed to me that all the previous years I was just doing something for Him and was missing Him, missing His sweet presence as a real and genuine Person. Deep within there was the sense that the Lord was saying, “Just take Me. You have been so busy all these years doing things for Me. Just rest in Me. Love Me and enjoy Me.” In that one moment, such an unspeakable joy and rest swallowed up all those years of struggle. From this point I was led to visit the local church in Spokane where Christian believers possessed such a deep love and profound joy for the Lord that was so attractive and encouraging. For the first time in my life I truly felt I was home while fellowshipping with these pursuers and seekers of Jesus Christ. What witnessed in my spirit was that these really knew God in a personal and intimate way. It was also very apparent that there was a genuine one accord among these believers which I had never seen elsewhere. From the very beginning of fellowshipping with them, I could really say, “that indeed God is among you” (1 Corinthians 14:26). These were ordinary, normal people who had discovered the secret of maintaining their joy of the Lord in their daily lives. I finally realized that this is what I really had been searching for all these years. The whole goal of these Christian brothers and sisters was just Christ Himself. They were not seeking anything for themselves, but just the very person of Jesus Christ. Years of endeavoring and doing were replaced by enjoying and pursuing, pursuing this One, our Lord. Here I was also introduced to the ministry writings of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee, faithful servants of God who had unlocked the mysteries of the Bible. Their writings were and still are so supplying and nourishing for my hungry spirit. I have a deep appreciation for all the books and messages given by Watchman Nee and Witness Lee because through these I was brought to the Person of Christ, not to any method or outward regulation. I was brought to experience and enjoy the reality of “Christ making His home in our hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17). There is one quotation by Witness Lee that sums up all that is in me, “Give yourself to love the Lord. No other way is so prevailing, and no other way is so safe, so rich and so full of enjoyment. Just love Him. Do not care for anything else” (Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs, p. 24). As an individual I could never have maintained this. This has been my experience now for 16 years with the brothers and sisters enjoying the Lord in the local church in Spokane. Jim Mogensen | Back to List |
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