Devotionals

Knowledge Plus Relationship Equals Fruitfulness

by Cheryl Weber
05/17/23
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“We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.” Colossians 1:9b-10 NLT

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3:8  NLT

You may have heard the saying, “To know him is to love him.”  This means that if we want to grow close to someone, we spend time with them, loving them, getting to know all we can about them and how we can please them. 

God knows us in intimate detail and loves us unconditionally. He wants relationship with us. If we have trusted Jesus for salvation, we should want a deep, growing relationship with him as well. We do this by reading what he says about himself in the Bible, how he wants to relate to us and us to him. We learn how to live our Christian lives through love for him and others that leads to obedience and acts of service (John 14:15, James 2:17-18).  But we also nurture this relationship through prayer and worship as we simply enjoy his presence, receive his love, and love him in return. 

In John 15:4-5 Jesus called this “abiding in the vine” and that if we do so, we will draw life from him that produces fruit. Psalms 1:1-3, also tells us that those who shun ungodly influences and focus consistently on God and his word will be like, “trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (NLT, vs 3).

Knowing and practicing the truth about God through Scripture keeps us from deception by Satan. Fellowship with God keeps us from dead religion that is only head knowledge. Knowledge plus relationship equals joy and fruitfulness.

PRAYER: Precious Lord, thank you that you know me and love me. Help me draw near to you in relationship and obedience as I live for you. Amen