How well do you know him?

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Scripture

“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
(John 17:25 NASB)
and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
(John 17:26 NASB)

 

Observation

The gospel of John gives us this glimpse of the intimacy which exists between Jesus and the Father as he seems to eavesdrop on Jesus' prayer. The prayer is a beautiful one in which the language weaves together a picture of mutual in-dwelling both between Jesus and the Father, and for those who are united with Christ. It speaks to the alienation from the earth because those who are truly in Christ won't "get" it. The world doesn't know or understand those people. The disciples had undergone a transformation in being with Christ. Christ had revealed God to them for Jesus was the very human image of God on earth and from him oozed love at a level that none of them had ever before experienced. He said that he had made the Father's name known to them. This little statement says so much because to know someone you needed to know their name -- how you were to call them. In knowing the Father's name a relationship and bond was created that would usurp anything which the world had to offer and that bond was held together through love.

 

Application

The older I get the worse I get with names.  I hate it when I look at someone and they are so familiar to me but I cannot think of their name. It becomes embarrassing and frustrating. I WANT to know and be able to speak out peoples' names. Why? Because when we call someone by name, they truly believe we KNOW who they are. We are willing to call them by name because it also means that some kind of a relationship exists and one in which formalities have been set aside and we can call one another by name.

Whenever we go to a restaurant to eat, my husband makes sure that he knows the server's name. He calls them by name and then introduces himself ("Call me Chuck"). Because I see this quite often I find it a little humorous but the reality is that something happens to that server when he asks for their name and then continues to call them by name. Some kind of a barrier comes down and usually they come back and call him "Chuck" and it opens the door for more friendly exchange and conversation. Why? Because there is something personal in knowing someone's name. In this case it seems to say "I care about you as a person, not just as my server."

God wants us to know his name because we are not created to be his slaves, but his children. On a deeply intimate level he wants to reveal himself to us so that we get to know him better. Jesus wanted his disciples not just to know the Father's name, but this was simply the gateway to a relationship in which they could be filled with the Father's love through the power of the Holy Spirit. However, there is no intimate relationship with the Father if we don't get acquainted first. Sometimes the relationship with God needs to begin with a handshake and let me introduce myself. Then we can move onto deeper levels of our walk with him. The result is that he is in me and I am in him and we have the opportunity of this mutual indwelling and mutual outpouring of love and affection. This is why he wants us to know him!

 

Prayer

Lord, thank you so much for the introduction so long ago and allowing me to walk with you. Please, help that walk to be continuously in your direction as you guide and lead. Amen.

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