Here’s the best thing I’ve read all week:
If the church consists of all those who have believed in Jesus, then church leaders must be less concerned with attracting a bigger flock and more concerned with getting the flock out of the pen.
This awesome nugget comes from Neil Cole and Phil Helfer in their timely and amazing book entitled Church Transfusion: Changing Your Church Organically–From the Inside Out.
Perception is everything.
Sometimes it is said that a messenger is the message. I want to spend some time in this post unpacking what this idea means.
I want to do so by telling a story:
My wife and I were on a walk in our neighborhood recently. The intention behind this walk was to get to know some of our neighbors in an effort to share the love of Jesus with them in some capacity. So we prayed before we went on our walk and we asked God to bring people across our path that we could positively impact.
There was a group of young men that were hanging out across the street. So we went up to them and introduced ourselves. While we were doing this I noticed that there were two young men behind them who appeared to be in the middle of some kind of business transaction, which meant I wanted nothing to do with that conversation.
As we were about to continue our walk, one of the young men who was doing business said, “There go the police.”
This interaction reminded my wife and I of how we are perceived in our neighborhood. And that perception is generally that we are affiliated with the police or at least that we don’t really belong in the neighborhood. My perception of this perception of us is that it’s because we are white and we live in a predominantly African-American and Latino community.
Whatever the case, this perception is reality to those who perceive us. And this is a perception that we must overcome over time.
So as we think about how to be a tangible blessing in our neighborhood, how do we deal with this perception and others like it?
Here’s what I did in the story above: I simply turned around and approached the two young men who said that we were the police. I told them that we weren’t the police and that we lived across the street.
I’m not sure what they thought of this interaction but I felt it necessary to confront this issue head-on. The main reason why is because I understand that this perception of us being the police could really get in the way of us interacting with the people on our block in meaningful ways moving forward.
But some of the perceptions of followers of Jesus are not as obvious as the ones in our neighborhood.
Sometimes perceptions of followers of Jesus are more subtle or or more general, such as that Christians are judgmental, too political, sticks in the mud, etc. (as revealed in the book unChristian by David Kinnnaman). And the reality is that it’s only through time and trust that perceptions such as these can be countered in healthy ways.
And while sometimes we may feel that the perception of us by those who do not yet follow Jesus is unfair, the responsibility is not on the perceiver but on the one being perceived. In other words, it’s our job as the messengers to be sure that the message is coming across clearly despite potential perception issues.
So here’s the question: how do we combat perceptions that might prevent us from being the tangible blessings that we are to be where we work, live, and play? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
On Halloween of 1993, Pasadena, CA had to face the reality of street gangs head on. There was no more room to pretend like the organized crime of America’s gang capital, Los Angeles, wasn’t here too.
That night, three gang-affiliated men gunned down six teenagers who were trick-or-treating. None of the victims were gang-affiliated; they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time that Halloween. Three of the young men died that night.
This tragic crime happened near the intersection of Emerson and Wilson in the Bungalow Heaven section of Pasadena, CA.
More than two years later, the three gunmen were found guilty of first degree murder, among other charges. And nearly three and a half years after the Halloween Massacre occurred the perpetrators were sentenced to death. And though 21 years have passed, the three men who were convicted of this horror on Halloween have yet to receive their ultimate punishment.
The tragedy of this situation isn’t just found in the deaths of innocent young men or the ever-present delays of the justice system; it can also be seen in the fact that a community had ignored the warning signs that this type of gang-related violence was possible. All the necessary components were present. And yet no one seemed to notice and, thus, nothing was done.
There’s no need to look unnecessarily back into the past to pick at proverbial scabs. But when there’s an opportunity for learning to happen and growth to occur, it would be a grand mistake not to look back so that we can move forward.
So, it’s with this philosophy of learning from the past that I offer a few humble suggestions of possible lessons to be learned from the Halloween Massacre of 1993 in Pasadena.
So, what will you do? How will you help lead others to address issues like the ones that led to the Halloween Massacre in Pasadena? And How will you and your community give the responsibility of transformation over to Jesus? Let me know in the comments below!
My wife and I are adopting.
Even though I have said and written those words many times, they still hit me in a surreal manner. I instinctively think something like this: We’re not really adopting; this must just be a dream or something.
But it’s real! In fact, yesterday it just got very, very real.
We heard our baby’s heartbeat for the first time.
A sample fetal heart rate monitor
Wendy, my cousin and our birthmother, had a doctor’s appointment yesterday and we went with her. The doctor and her assistant helped Wendy get into position and placed the listening end of a fetal heart rate monitor on her stomach.
And then we heard a series of sounds that brought this whole adoption thing out of the realm of “no way” right into the realm of “yup, it’s real.”
After listening for a little while the doctor told the assistant that the heart rate was 145 beats per minute. But I wonder what the heart rates of my wife and I were? I know that my heart was racing at a pace that felt like a million beats per minute!
That tiny baby’s heartbeat, which is in the normal range by the way (I Googled it!), represents a lifetime of stories, heartbreaks, love, and excitement.
That tiny heartbeat will change our lives forever.
This whole experience kind of reminds me of when I first heard the heartbeat of Jesus.
Sadly, I lived for more than 20 years as a follower of Jesus before I really heard this heartbeat myself.
Don’t get me wrong. Sometimes I would hear a faint sound that might have been Jesus’ heartbeat. I certainly heard other people talk about experiencing his heartbeat firsthand.
But I hadn’t, at least not consistently.
But a few years ago I pulled my head out of my academic books (where it had been buried for 7 years at the time) and came up for air. I realized that while I was on my self-imposed academic exile, an entire movement within the Church had taken on full form.
That movement is called the missional movement. (Here’s a post where I talk about this process in more detail.)
That word, missional, has definitely hit buzzword status and, as such, it needs a bit of explaining. So, here goes: “missional” means to be on mission with Jesus. As Hugh Halter puts it in his book entitled Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation down to Earth — being missional means being disciples that live the human life of Jesus in our human lives.
So, if we see Jesus doing something, then we should be doing it too. If we see him telling his disciples to do these sorts of things and not those sorts of things, then we should obey. If we see Jesus caring for people, whoever they may be, then we should follow suit.
Here’s a way I like to think about it — being missional means letting Jesus’ heartbeat beat in our hearts.
And what is Jesus’ heartbeat?
I think we see it primarily in two places. And each of these two places is of utmost importance and both should be pursued by followers of Jesus with all of our gumption.
The first is found in Luke 4.16-21:
He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Here we see Jesus’ heartbeat in this way: his heart beats for the downtrodden, for the oppressed, and for the forgotten. When our hearts start to mimic Jesus’ heartbeat, then we’ll start caring for the poor, those who are imprisoned, those who are differently abled, and those who are oppressed.
The second is found in Matthew 28.18-20:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Here we find the other side of Jesus’ heartbeat — his desire that his followers would help others follow him too. And who are his followers supposed to help become disciples? Everyone, all the nations.
And what are they to do with them when they start following Jesus? They are to baptize them (making them part of the church family) and they are to teach them to obey Jesus (mentoring them to live the human life of Jesus in their lives).
Traditionally different sorts of Christians have focused on one aspect of Jesus’ heartbeat or the other. Friends, this is simply a cop out. We must focus on both. All of us. Each one of us. Together.
We must be all about justice and we much be all about making disciples.
And hearing the heartbeat of Jesus can change our lives, even more so than hearing the heartbeat a baby.
When you think of the heartbeat of Jesus, what do you think of and why? Let me know in the comments below!
If you would like to know how you can support my wife any I in this crazy process of adoption, click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser: https://www.continuetogive.com/mattandalida.
To read some more of our adoption story, CLICK HERE.
Thanks!
Years and years ago my then-girlfriend, Alida, told me about her passion for adoption. Little did I know that more than a decade later me and that same woman would be pursuing the adoption of a child together!
It only took a small amount of time for me, as Alida’s boyfriend, to catch the adoption bug too. Over the years that followed we periodically dreamed together about what adopting a child could look like.
Then, through a series of God-ordained events, we ended up in the Los Angeles area and began to become more and more affected by the realities of poverty and injustice within America’s inner-cities. That’s when our adoption attention turned from international settings to domestic ones. This was a huge change for us.
So, due to this new focus and passion toward domestic adoption, Alida and I began researching options. We discovered and then agreed to pursue the foster-care-to-adoption route. Basically we would become a certified foster-care home and receive foster-child placements. As a foster-care-to-adoption family our hope would be to foster children that we may one day adopt.
Alida and I found a agency to go through and started the process in mid-September of 2014. We told our parents, siblings, and close friends that this process was beginning and they all started praying for us.
My dad told many people, including his sister Ellen, about what we were doing so that they could pray for us. Unbeknownst to us, Ellen’s granddaughter (my first cousin, once removed) Wendy was pregnant and had just found out that very week. She and her family decided that it would be in the best interest of the child to give it up for adoption. They held out hope that it could be adopted within the family.
And it could!
Ellen told Wendy about us, Wendy’s mom asked us if we wanted to adopt Wendy’s child, and we asked for a few days to think it through. Over the next two days we prayed, researched, prayed, cried, prayed, talked, prayed, didn’t sleep, and prayed some more. After a long process we determined that this adoption was for us!
We believed, and still believe, that this adoption is what God would have for us to do at this time in our lives. In fact, for us and in this specific case, we realized that all our reasons to say “no” were fearful, selfish, and not centered on the good news of Jesus and his kingdom. Those were not the sorts of things that typically influenced our other decisions in life, so we felt that it was clear that saying “yes” was the right course of action.
And we did!
This January we’ll be the proud parents of a newborn!
By: gabi menashe
Note: These feet are from a Flickr photo and not the feet of our child!
During our decision-making process we realized that we were not prepared for the financial differences between a foster-care-to-adoption process and a private, independent, interstate adoption.
In short, we quickly realized that attorney fees, social worker fees, state and federal fees, etc. were going to pile up.
Add to this the fact that our friends and family have very helpfully inundated us with offers of help.
In response we wanted to provide a way for people who so desired to help us and partner with us in the process. In order to do so, we created a fundraising page. So if you would like to offer us help in this way, simply go to the following link or copy and paste it into your browser: https://www.continuetogive.com/mattandalida .
Even more importantly, we covet your prayers and support during this time. Please pray that this process would go smoothly and please pray for us, Wendy, and the baby.
Thank you for reading this! Feel free to leave a comment or two for Alida and me below! 🙂
There’s a popular fashion trend that’s been a thing since 2001. It’s called OBEY Clothing. Surely you’ve seen their shirts and hats out and about. Here’s an example:
OBEY Clothing Hat
The great thing about the OBEY brand is it’s origins. It began with the street art of Shepard Fairey and is heavily steeped in the cultures of punk rock and skateboarding. Thus, it’s both funny and odd that the word “obey” is so closely associated with this company since Fairey, punk, and skateboarding are all known for individuality, independence, and spontaneity.
Here’s the way OBEY’s website describes the use of the word “obey”: “With biting sarcasm verging on reverse psychology, he [Fairy] goads viewers, using the imperative ‘obey,’ to take heed of the propagandists out to bend the world to their agendas.”
Thus, even though OBEY uses the word “obey,” they are clearly hoping that the people they influence will not be obedient to the culture of advertising in America…unless, of course, they happen to be obedient to the advertising of OBEY itself and buy some of their products!
Needless to say, it has always been an interesting tug-of-war in Western culture between being obedient to cultural norms and being independent and entrepreneurial. Whatever the case, we, as Western people, are rather obsessed with the idea of being obedient.
Thus, it is only wise for those of us who follow Jesus to see what the Bible has to say about being obedient. One place to look is Jesus’ first miraculous sign in the Gospel of John.
In a previous post, I wrote about the story of Jesus turning to water to wine from Mary’s perspective. Now I’d like to look at the story from the perspective of the servants.
So there were some servants minding their own business at a wedding in Cana. It had likely been a long day, or even couple of long days. They had worked hard and were probably enjoying a moment of calm.
Then the wine ran out.
While the shame of this fact fell on the family throwing the party and not them, they knew that it likely meant lots of work for them. They’d probably have to go out and find some more wine, buy it with the master’s credit, and haul it back to the party. And they’d have to do all of that super fast!
But then Mary says to them, “Do whatever my son tells you” (John 2.5).
Apparently Mary had the authority to command them to do things, which likely meant that Mary was either serving as a wedding coordinator of sorts or that she was simply protecting the honor of the family responsible for the wine. Either way, these servants were prepared to follow Mary’s orders.
They waited.
After a second Jesus told them to do the following: “Fill each water pot with water until it’s ready to spill over the top; then fill a cup, and deliver it to the headwaiter” (John 2.7-8).
I love the way John explains the next part: “They did exactly as they were instructed” (John 2.8).
They were obedient. Exactly obedient. They filled the part pots all the way up to their brims. Then they scooped some out and served it to the headwaiter.
If you stop and think about that for a second, it’s pretty crazy! They knew what they were doing. They were putting water in pots and then serving water to the headwaiter. And this headwaiter likely had the authority to get them in all kinds of trouble for serving him water when wine was in order.
But they were exactly obedient anyway.
For whatever reason they trusted Mary and by proxy they trusted Jesus too. They obeyed.
And somewhere in the midst of their obedience Jesus did a miracle which led to a deepening of the faith of Jesus’ disciples.
One of the most common questions pastor-types get goes something like this: “I was listening to an international missionary talk about the cool things that God does over there, like miracles and stuff. Why don’t those things happen here in the West?”
I don’t really think there’s an easy answer to that question. But as of late I’ve been getting a feeling that the Bible may be pointing to something helpful.
And here it is in plain language: In the Gospels Jesus often does miraculous things within the context of obedience.
It’s not that obedience “causes” the miracle, but it appears that Jesus responds to obedient people by doing cool things on their behalf, or at least in their midst.
Friends, if that is true (which I think it is!), then perhaps we don’t see as many miraculous signs here in the West because we’re not all that obedient to Jesus.
We are obedient though!
And the list could go on.
So here’s the question: To what or to whom are we obedient?
In the comments below let me know what you think about being obedient to Jesus.
I’m starting to learn that following Jesus is a full-time calling.
And I’m not talking about this government-regulated 40-hour work week stuff. No. I’m talking about every waking moment.
Now I’m not saying that we have to be “on” and doing “ministry” at every moment. But what I am saying is that we need to be open to whatever God wants to do in us or through us at any moment in any place.
Even at the grocery store.
Are you ready to follow Jesus…even at the grocery store?
By: r. nial bradshaw
So here’s the story that inspired this post:
The other day I needed to run to the grocery store. So I left the comforts of home and made my way to the market.
The grocery store that I went to is one of my regular haunts. I know most of the cashiers’ faces and a few of their names. This time, however, when I went to check out, I ended up in a line with someone I had never seen before.
I never caught her name because her name tag was flipped over, but she was pleasant enough. She made a few little jokes and I politely laughed. As I have mentioned before, I am an introvert and small talk is pretty much the bane of my existence. But I felt like I needed to clue in, so I started paying attention.
The cashier was making a small grimace with her face each time she reached for my items with her right hand. She noticed that I noticed and started talking about the pain in her wrist. She told me all about it — when it started, what her doctor said about it, how long it takes to get in at the local clinic, and how she has to miss work sometimes because of the pain.
In fact, she talked so much that she was still talking even though I had paid for my items and reloaded my basket. She kept talking.
Now I need to be honest. My first reaction was to be frustrated. My wife was waiting for me at home and it had been a long day. All my selfish side wanted to do was to shut her down and get out of there.
But due to the fact that my wife and I (and some of our closest friends) have been attempting to make ourselves more available to God, I felt a small voice in the back of my mind telling me to listen up. So I did. I put all my introvert tendencies aside and continued to listen.
The cashier talked for another minute or two. (Luckily there was no one else in line!) Then I felt a very clear impression to ask her if she was a praying person. So I did:
“Are you a praying person?”
“What?” she said.
“Do you pray?”
“Sometimes. Well, not really all that much.”
“Would you mind if I prayed for you?” I replied.
“Uh, sure, I guess.”
I let go of my basket and moved in closer to her and asked if I could touch her wrist where she was feeling pain. She extended her right hand and I took her forearm in my right hand. It kind of looked like a Roman hand shake.
Roman Handshake
I bowed my head and closed my eyes and said a really short prayer asking Jesus to heal her. When I finished praying, I opened my eyes and we made solid eye contact for a few seconds. She had gotten a little misty and I told her that I hoped Jesus would heal her. Then we parted ways.
I went back last night to check on her at the grocery store and she wasn’t at work. When/if I see her again, I’ll post a short update!
So I’m only telling this story for one reason: we need to be more available. I’ve lived much of my life viewing others as extras in the movie of my life. This is unfair and selfish on my part.
God sends us to the places where we work, live, play…and shop! Even the grocery store!
And the only reason this story sticks out in my memory is because it is the exception to the rule: I’m usually unavailable.
I’m distracted, or looking at my phone, or staring off into the distance, or talking to someone I came with.
But when I make myself available for God to use, he does! And I guarantee that if you make yourself available, God will plug you into the work he’s already doing in the places where you work, live, and play.
Even at the grocery store.
(BONUS: This isn’t the first time that something interesting has happened to me at the grocery store. Click here to read another post about an unexpected missional encounter at the grocery store!)
So, how has God used you in unexpected ways? Has he used you at the grocery store? Let me know in the comments below!
Jesus’ first miraculous sign in John is one of my favorite stories in all of the Gospels! In fact, I love it so much that I plan on blogging about it from several different angles over the next few days.
And to get things started I want to look at this story from Mary’s perspective. Spoiler alert — Mary’s perspective is defined by one word: trust.
By: Terry Johnston
The story of Jesus turning water into wine has been interesting to me for decades. When I was younger, I was surprised to learn that Jesus’ first miracle in John involved him creating wine because the religious context I grew up in taught that all alcoholic drinks were to be avoided at all costs.
Later, while in college and seminary, the sociological background of this story began to intrigue me, specifically the elements of honor and shame that are part of this story. And that’s right where I want to start, with the honor and shame system and how it impacted Mary.
So in the story what we see is that Jesus, his friends, and his mom attend a wedding. This wedding was in the town of Cana, which is a neighbor city to Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown. And one of the first details that we learn about this wedding is that the wine was gone.
Why is this detail important? Why would John include it? For one main reason, at least in my estimation: the wine running out brought shame on the family organizing the wedding.
Since I didn’t grow up in an honor/shame culture, this part of the story is hard for me to understand. So maybe an analogy would help…
Imagine that you were invited to a wedding. When you arrive at the venue, everyone is standing outside because the venue has been double-booked! Everyone is in their best clothes. The bride and groom are ready to go. But the family who booked the venue is embarrassed and frustrated.
These feelings are similar to what the family in this story would feel if they were made aware of the problem of the wine running out.
And who is the person to step in and prevent this shame from coming to fruition?
Mary.
And who does Mary turn to in this time of need?
Jesus.
Mary trusts Jesus. Maybe she remembers what she was told about Jesus when she was pregnant (Luke 1.26-38). Maybe Joseph has passed away, as is commonly believed, and Jesus was her nearest male relative to whom she could turn, which was the societal norm of the day.
Whatever the case, Mary trusted Jesus. She asked him for help.
And despite Jesus’ strange response, which we’ll talk about in a future blog, Mary tells other people to do whatever Jesus says.
So Mary’s trust doesn’t just stay private, she shares it with others.
Friends, whom or what do we trust? Many of us would say that we trust Jesus, but our actions sometimes say otherwise.
From our obsession with our stuff, it could be said that we trust our possessions.
From our constant pursuit of more things, it could be said that we trust in our ability to consume.
From our protection of our autonomy, it could be said that we trust ourselves first.
From our focus on our families to the detriment of those in need around us, it could be said that we trust our families.
This list could go on and on.
The truth is that we seem to be willing to trust just about anything and anyone except Jesus. How do we know this? Because we aren’t doing a great job of following Jesus. If we trusted him, we would follow him more closely.
If we trusted Jesus, we would be centered on his mission to make disciples and bring about justice for those most in need.
If we trusted Jesus, we would spend less time judging the sin of others and more time loving them.
If we trusted Jesus, we would be like Mary, letting our trust move from being private to becoming public.
And if we trusted Jesus, we would demonstrate less and less that we trust other things and people more than him.
What do you think about Mary’s trust in John 2.1-12? And how do you think that we, as followers of Jesus, could demonstrate our trust in him more and more? Let me know in the comments below.
Am I called by God?
This is a question that many of us who follow Jesus ask ourselves over the course of our faith journeys. In my experience, what people usually mean by this question is something like this: Does God want me to serve him on a pastoral team or in some sort of a missionary context, such as campus ministries or traditional missionary service in an international setting.
This sort of calling is important, don’t get me wrong. But it’s my belief and conviction that all of us who claim Jesus as Lord are called. We are called to follow Jesus!
This leaves a few questions, which I want to explore.
By: abaporu
Brothers and sisters, if you follow Jesus, you are called. You are called to actively follow him where ever he leads you. You are called to do the things that were central to Jesus: making disciples (Matthew 28.19), loving God and others (Matthew 22.38-40), and pursuing justice for those who are easily forgotten (Luke 4.16-21). Are you doing these things?
Are you called by God? Tell me about it in the comments below!
One of my favorite passages in all of the Bible is Philippians 3.10-11: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.”
Maybe I like this passage because I’ve spent much of my life trying to get to know Jesus. I’ve read about him. I’ve meditated on his words and on the words of others who have written about him. I’ve sung about him. I’ve talked about him. And I’ve written about him a lot.
But even more meaningful is what we see in John 1.43-51 — people are known by Jesus. We may want to know him, which is important. But he already knows us. We are known by Jesus.
Let’s unpack this…
As I wrote about earlier, Jesus just called his first disciples. He asked them to follow him and they did, thanks to the witness of John the Baptist and their families.
But what I didn’t write about was a miraculous moment between Jesus and Peter. Here’s what it looked like:
Andrew meets Jesus and is enamored. He goes to tell his brother Simon. When Jesus meets Simon he identifies him without being told anything about him. Jesus simply looked at him and said “You are Simon, son of John.”
Did you catch it? Simon, who Jesus says will be called Peter, was known by Jesus before they ever met face to face. That’s pretty cool, right?
It gets better, just wait.
Jesus is so cool in this passage!
In verse 43, Jesus finds Philip and invites him to follow him. Philip apparently said yes and wanted to let his brother, Nathaniel, know too. So, Philip told Nathaniel that the long-awaited Messiah has come and that he’s from Nazareth.
Nathaniel’s first response was prejudiced and shallow: “Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?” But instead of correcting him, Philip does something profound. He simply says come and see for yourself. I love this: when people are making judgments about Jesus that are annoying and naive, we can just invite them to meet the real Jesus.
So Philip and Nathaniel go to meet Jesus and as they are approaching Jesus he says to Nathaniel that he’s a good, upstanding guy. Nathaniel is shocked and says “How do you know me?”
Jesus’ response in verse 48 is enigmatic: “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” What’s so special about this? There are at least two things:
Either way, what Jesus said really impacted Nathaniel. His response in verse 49 goes like this: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.” He was saying that he was all in! Then Jesus responds, “You ain’t seen anything yet!”
The most amazing thing about this story is that Nathaniel was known by Jesus. And this fact blew Nathaniel away! But how was Nathaniel known by Jesus? In John’s Gospel, we don’t know yet for sure. But in the opening verses of John we read that the Word, who is Jesus, has always been around, even at the very beginning. Thus, Nathaniel was known by Jesus from the beginning. There was never a time when he wasn’t known by Jesus. That’s really pretty cool!
Psychologists tell us that one of our basic human needs is to be known. And we all know what it feels like to be in a relationship with someone who doesn’t really care to know us. It hurts and it feels exploitative.
But the truth is that each and every one of us is known by God and we have been known by him from the foundations of the universe.
But that can be scary.
Think about it: If God has always known me, then he has always known all my problems, my failures, my hatreds, my prejudices, my mistakes, etc. How could he love me if he has always known me? I mean, come on, I have a hard time loving myself!
But that’s the miracle of the good news of Jesus and his kingdom; God has always known us and he loves us anyway. Romans 5.8 is helpful to memorize: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Let’s put that in plain English: We are all known by God, and yet he loves us anyway. Despite our mistakes and sinfulness, Jesus came for us. We are known by God and he still desires so passionately to be with us that he went to the greatest lengths possible!
Friends, we have two responses: 1) Accept and live into the love that God so graciously lavishes upon us, even though we don’t deserve it; and 2) Share that love with others, because to do otherwise would be incredibly, incredibly selfish.
What do you think? What does it feel like to be known by Jesus? Let me know in the comments below!
