You know that person who always seems to be “name-dropping” as if they really know important or famous people?  If I was honest, I’m probably guilty of name-dropping too! The truth is we may know about the person, but we don’t really know them. We love to claim the association.  

We can act the same way when it comes to God. We name-drop and talk about God; but do we really know him. My hope is not to just know about God but to know God on an intimate level. Truly knowing God will lead to a relationship rather than just religion.  

To know God, we have to know God as the Trinity. (I know the actual word “trinity” is not in the Bible, but the concept is definitely a Biblical truth.) Trinity means God is three persons. Each is fully God and yet there is one God:  the Father, God for us; the Son, God with us; and the Holy Spirit, God in us. But the Holy Spirit tends to be the one we don’t really understand and don’t really tap into the power that is there for us. It’s God living in us.  

As we step into the holiday season, gifts are at the forefront of our mind:  buying gifts, receiving gifts, opening gifts. In Acts 2, Peter says when we become followers of Jesus we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. I don’t know about your faith background, if you have any at all, but mine was one where I heard the Holy Spirit talked about – but He was like a Gift I never opened.  (I knew the Holy Spirit was given…but I didn’t really understand Him, so I never opened the gift and discovered His power and promise for my life.)  

Jesus told us there was One coming, the Holy Spirit, who would be even better than Him.  (I like the idea of a God in the flesh more than a Spirit I can’t really see or touch. That seems a little more real.)  But Jesus was saying the coming One would be living in us – God in us! And that Gift was the Holy Spirit. He fulfilled the promise that God would always be with us!  

God the Father sent God the Son to do the work of grace on the cross and God the Son has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us, so we can live out that grace for the world to see. This season we will take lots of time to shop for the right gifts. But don’t miss the  indescribable gift of taking time to really know God and his Spirit.   

My prayer for you this holiday season, if you are a follower of Jesus, is that you would come to know God in a deeper way and really understand the relationship you have with him because his Holy Spirit lives in you.  

If you don’t know God personally, then my prayer is that you would investigate who He says He is and come to know and understand the love He has for you as demonstrated by Jesus on the cross. Then you, too, can receive the indescribable gift of all gifts: eternal life!    

May we all come to know God in such a way that we unwrap His incredible gift of the Holy Spirit – God in us! And may we become more than “name-droppers” when it comes to God and be able to truly say, in the words of Buddy the elf, “I know Him!” 

Bart Stone. Momentum Christian Church.