A number of years ago, I wrote a song called ‘Truth’. In it, there’s the line:

'There's a love that we all seem to crave 

To be noticed, held, appreciated

By someone who we trust with our breath'

Within all of us there’s this innate desire to be known. We long to be heard, seen, and loved. Something inside us longs to be in deep and intimate relationship. Whether we know it or not, we place our entire identity in being known by someone.

Jesus has been showing me that this desire was given to each of us by Him. He’s been teaching me that He’s placed this longing in our hearts to be known because He wants us to know Him. He desires us to have an eternal relationship with the One who breathed life into our lungs and to place our reason for existing in having friendship with Him. But, the wild thing is, not only does God want us to know Him: He wants to know us. The Creator of the Universe, who placed the stars and counts the sand, wants to know us. He wants to be close to us. I’ve been learning recently that Jesus desires to use every moment of our existence to bring us close and closer to Him. Every joy, every adventure, every season of questioning and heartache, every moment of loneliness, and every second of connection that we have with another person Jesus is using to reveal His desire to know us. 

Let that floor you for a moment.

I’m reminded that, being made in the image of God (as Sean Feucht’s beautiful ‘Imago Dei‘ reminds us), we carry His attributes. We were formed with the ability to see and touch and feel like Him. And one of the ways in which we see this is in our need for connection. Not that Jesus needs us: He doesn’t. He is eternally and entirely self sustaining and totally sufficient (else He wouldn’t be God). But, He wants to know us; He wants to invite us into the life that He sustains and into the joy of relationship that only He can give.

There’s a song I’ve been listening to called ‘Abide’ by Kingdom Culture Worship. It starts with the line, “To be love, is to be loved by You.” It hit me so sweetly and deeply that there simply isn’t any love without Jesus. He is love. He is the only place love is found. Any love we have seen or have ever felt was Him loving us. I let that wash over me.

In the same way, to be known, is to be known by Him. There isn’t any knowing without Him. He’s the only One who truly knows us. The only One who can tell us why we breathe. The only One who can satisfy our desire to be seen, held, and loved. And He sees, holds, and loves us more perfectly than we can imagine.

So, today, come close.

Selah the moment and thank Jesus for loving you the way He does. Thank Him for knowing you. And spend sometime getting to know Him. That’s why He died, spent three days in the grave, and rose again.

To know you.