For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (II Timothy 1:12 NKJV)
Have you ever met someone famous? In 1994 I met John “Hot Rod” Williams, power forward for the Cleveland Caviliers. Well, I sort of met him. I was living in Dallas at the time and visited a bookstore downtown on my lunch break. I went to the magazine and comic book section and there he stood towering at 6-11, 215lbs, reading a comic book. I guessed he must’ve been in town to play the Mavericks.
I said hello and he returned the greeting, avoiding any prolonged eye contact, sending the message “I’m busy, please don’t disturb me”. So, we both stood there in silence reading comics. Then eventually, doing my best to act casual, I turned to leave and said “good luck in tonight’s game”. He said “thanks”.
I know “Hot Rod” Williams, sort of. Sure, I’d seen him on TV many times and heard commentators say a lot about him, but none of that qualifies as knowing him. In my encounter with him, we spoke and I learned that he likes comics but it doesn’t mean I truly know him. He’s just famous.
I believe in my heart there are many people who have the same relationship with God that I have with “Hot Rod”. We’ve heard about God at church, on TV, radio and the web. We’ve seen movies and heard stories about him. Preachers have given us years of commentary about God. But aside from a chance encounter with God, we still don’t know him. He’s just famous.
Paul told Timothy “I know whom I have believed”. God wasn’t just famous to Paul. He knew God deeply and personally. We can too. God is always with us. We don’t have to wait to bump into him at church like I bumped into “Hot Rod” at the bookstore. He’s with us in all times, in all places, and in every circumstance. Even though he’s running the universe and keeps the world spinning, he’s never too busy to talk to us. We can commune with him through prayer anytime. If we make spending time with God a priority in our lives, he won’t be just famous to us. He’ll be known.