“But whoever loves God is known by God.” 1 Corinthians 8:3 NIV
Reflection: who actually knows you?
At church yesterday, the pastor’s wife shared with the congregation that one of the kids in the youth group had gotten hurt in an off-road motorcycle accident. He was at one of the local hospitals, fighting for his life. And then she asked if the congregation would join her in prayer for him, and specifically to pray that he would be healed so that he could attend their upcoming summer camp. As she started praying, you could pretty quickly tell that her heart was broken for this young man, and that she was pleading for him before a Father God whom she so clearly loved. It was a deeply personal, honest and humble prayer, admitting to her Father her lack of faith that this was even possible. But she offered the little faith she had, and asked God anyway. There were probably not many dry eyes among the congregation after her prayer.
In today’s very short focus verse, we learn about the connection between love and intimacy. You might be thinking, where is the “intimacy” part of this verse? Stay with me on this, because I think Paul is sharing a profound truth with us here. If we think back to the sermon on the Mount, Jesus said something that seems a bit odd; perhaps even scary. ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23 ESV. The key phrase there is,
“I never knew you”
What Jesus is saying here is that there was never a real relationship between him and them. Although they did “mighty works” in the name of Jesus, they did it out of selfish ambition. How can we know that? Because Jesus says they were not seeking and doing the will of the Father. So then, how can we know the will of the Father? This is the first half of the focus verse today,
“whoever loves God”
Jesus said, “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” Matthew 22:37-38 ESV. To truly love God is to first surrender ourselves to Him. Then to learn all we can about Him, to surrender our own will for His will, and to follow Him. He sees our hearts, whether we are genuine in our desire for Him and His ways, or if it is merely a show. A fasade. We might be able to fool people, but we end up just fooling ourselves. Because
we cannot fool God.
And the second part of the verse is very beautiful, once you catch it. For those who truly love God, who love and follow His ways, He will take presence in. He will give of His spirit to, and thereby become one with. To share of Himself with, in the deepest form of relationship we can image. The closest parallel to a human relationship is marriage. Before we are able to be intimate, we must get to know each other, fall in love with one another. Fall in love with who this other person really is. To be known by each other. In fact the word Paul uses for “known by God” is equivalent to marriage intimacy.
Do you love the Lord your God, love seeking, understanding and following His will and His ways? If so, then you are known by Him. ““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25 ESV