Wakefield Cathedral: Catch-Up Article
Friday, 25th June 2021
Do you know me?
Am I known to you?
What do we know of each other?
A name and number, a location, what I post on Facebook, my family, where I work?
Maybe your interest is more about my shopping habits or what I put in my bins.
What do you really know of me?
Are we intimate? Acquaintances? A confidante or virtual strangers?
Wait, you seem to know too much about me. I don’t like that.
I’m a private person. Have you been stalking me?
This feels oppressive. Leave me alone.
Yet you know nothing really, do you?
Please don’t go.
I’m a nice person, once you get to know me.
Do we yearn to be truly known, yet private and wanting it on our own terms? Is there a risk in being known? Is there a greater risk of not being known at all?
Psalm 139, this week’s bible study, speaks of being sought out, found and truly known.
To begin with, the psalmist is overwhelmed by this ‘knowing’ of God… it’s incredible, and a bit too much! Actually its all a bit scary!
Where can he hide? Beyond the oceans or in the sky, or in death? Is there nowhere beyond the reach of this all-knowing God.
But wait, there is something compelling and engaging here – God knows me so intimately -more than I know myself….ha! Imagine that!
You know me from before I was born: every moment, my highs and lows;
You know my thoughts and my desires, all of them.
And that’s ok, for me. I am ok with that knowing. I am not afraid of that.
This knowing of God is not intrusive or oppressive, it is liberating.
For when the judgement of God comes, I will have been known and loved first.
Who can compare with that?
Wanting to be known by God and seeking such intimacy leads us to know ourselves better.
Self awareness, and a loving acceptance of Gods creation in ourselves, can open a window on the world. We will see others differently and learn to love more deeply.
Such is the route to true unity with God – a right relationship. And it is a very different road than the ones we are often invited down where being known is often an illusion, based on unwitting disclosure of information! Seek out friendships instead!
How will you deepen your relationship with God in one another today?