The more we get to know the Lord, self-awareness of our sinful nature is increased and the number of sins decreased, especially the conscious ones. This seems to be the normal condition of Christians growing in their sanctification. Then there are those believers who don’t seem to advance at all. Frequently, they commit their sins.

In both groups, though, it appears that if a sin is committed, other than inadvertent ones, it’s because of an overwhelming desire for that sin, and the failure to seek the manifestation of Jesus’ character within. Oftentimes, we proceed into sin because of the belief that God will forgive if asked.

That much about God is real to us; that His forgiveness can be taken for granted. But I suspect that we sin because the rest of God’s attributes aren’t real enough to keep us from sinning. If that’s the case, it is both a sobering and encouraging thought to accept.

Think about it. If God were as real as someone we know, love, and can touch and see, then we would be fearful of sinning. We would be fearful because just the thought of seeing Him disappointed and in pain would be unbearable. Yes, He’d forgive us, but, surely, we wouldn’t do that to His love in the first place. That’s how real He should be to us.

But believing that God is real is one thing. Knowing Him is another. It takes both. However, it is the latter – the continual seeking of and submission to His grace – that will make Him more real in our lives. For to know Him is to behold Him and to become like Him.

If it’s true that God may not be real enough to us, we shouldn’t see that as a negative. Instead, see it as a time to rejoice that we humbly recognize and admit, that for Him to be more real, our relationship (prayer, Bible study, doing the Word, etc.) with Him needs to be more real.

Indeed, if we sin because He isn’t real enough in our lives, then such a recognition and admission should serve as a welcomed wake-up call to draw closer, not to the idea of Him, but to His actual personhood.