Fully Known AND Deeply Loved
We live in an image-driven culture, meaning our culture encourages, even expects, us to present a personal image others accept, appreciate, and admire. Personal branding is no longer the forte of celebrities. Through social media, countless Americans invest endless hours into sculpting the image they want others to see. When our lives fall short of the images we present, we tend to carry the weight alone; and few things are as heavy as the weight of secret sin, personal guilt, or grief that is unknown or misunderstood. This leaves us with the realization that while our “friends and followers” may know things about us, no one may really know us.
To be surrounded by people, physically or virtually, yet unknown by anyone is one of the great curses of our age. It’s a wide-spread condition that few are prepared to navigate, and no one was created to endure. Our lifelong need to be known is most profoundly met by being fully and completely known by God the Father, as his children.
John 10:3 says that God knows each of his children by name and Malachi 3:16 says that he keeps an on-going record of every word and deed of every one of his people, not to judge or condemn, but to know, spare, and reward us. In Psalm 56:8, the Psalmist asked God to “put my tears in your bottle.”
The Bible is clear.
God knows your name and your story.
He knows every detail of your story,
AND he loves you enough to send his son to die for you.
God has not forgotten you.
He has not flinched at your rage.
He is not shaken by your fear,
or broken by your doubt.
He has not abandoned you.
He has not withdrawn from you.
He knows your secrets.
He has redeemed your guilt.
He not only understands your grief, but he also feels it with you.
He walks with you.
He weeps with you.
When you feel worthless or unloved, he listens attentively and sympathetically.
He is always eager to provide the gift of his presence when you simply turn toward him.
He is your light when life gets dark.
He is your comforter and your strength in times of trouble.
The prodigal may convince himself that he is forgotten, overlooked, or even exiled. Yet, your plight never goes unnoticed. God is always watching through loving eyes. His light is always on. His door is always open. His phone is always answered. He knows every detail of your story, and he longs for you to come home. You are fully known and deeply loved.
“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.” - GOD
Isaiah 49:15