EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION

god’s party

I can’t remember ever coming across this verse until the other day. At least, it never stood out to me the way it did this time. That could be because the book of the prophet Zephaniah is one of the lesser-known zip codes in the Bible: “The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.”

1 The great God of the universe loves me so much and is so happy to have me in His life that He can’t help but throw a party and break into singing to let it be known! It’s a fun and encouraging picture, especially if you’ve ever struggled with feeling distant from God.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” But it’s

2 hard to love someone you don’t know, and I realize that I don’t know Jesus anywhere near as well as I would like.

Each of us has family and friends—people that we know well. Then there are people we spend time with and know—not necessarily by choice, but because they’re our coworkers, schoolmates, etc. Then there are people we sort of know, whom we meet by chance or occasionally bump into and have to struggle to remember their names. There are also people we’ll probably never meet but whom we read about or follow on social media. The question is, where does Jesus fit into this spectrum?

Of course, God’s nature is so vast and complex that no human being can ever fully know Him. But life is about continually seeking Him, learning

3 more about Him, and enjoying His fellowship. As Paul wrote, “Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

4 Let’s get to know Jesus. Samuel Keating Executive Editor