It's who you really know

I love people watching!   I thoroughly enjoy sitting in a little coffee shop, observing interactions with people.  I like to guess why people are there.  Are they on a business meeting?  Planning a party?  Catching up with a friend or on a date?

What really fascinates me is people's posture, tone and engagement with others.  You can tell a lot about a relationship by those things. Sometimes you can look at an interaction and see that one person wants something from the other, or you can tell that there is a playfulness between people, or there is a struggle - even if you can't hear what they are saying.

Communication flows from relationship.  We will communicate differently depending on the depth of the relationship and the breadth of shared interests we have with someone.  

I will talk differently with my husband, John, than with the lady who makes my coffee at the cafe. John and I have more than 30 years of shared history together.  He knows me better than anyone else on the planet, we have friends in common, trials we walk through together and joys we celebrate.  The lady at the cafe and I might chat about the weather, we might even get excited about the cakes, but it won't be anything like how John and I relate!   

I trust John with my heart, and I will listen to him knowing he's not out to put me down.

How we talk to God will reflect how well we know him and what we want from him.   We may need healing, and so we only relate to him on the basis of what we need.  We may have a relationship struggle, and so we relate to God in that way only.  We may think God is a punitive God, who is angry with us and waiting for us to mess up, so that he can dispense his holy correction, and so we approach him with fear or with little expectation of a positive response.  Or, we can relate to him in truth and the reality of who he is: a loving Father who delights in us as his children.

When we don't know God intimately, we will communicate with him superficially, but when we know him well, we can open our hearts and share our deepest thoughts and feelings - approaching him with confidence and boldness (as Hebrews 4:16). We can share the cares we have, and tell him the joys of life too (even though he knows them already).  When we are close to him, He becomes the centre of it all. We will also be open to hearing what he has to say to us, knowing that he has only our best interests at heart. 

If I were watching you and Jesus from my spot in the cafe, would I see intimate friendship or fearful trepidation?  Would I see timidity or boldness, would I see honour or anxiety?  This is not to condemn, but when we know God, then we don't simply seek him on the level of what we need, but rather we spend time with him for who he is, and from there enjoy all of the blessings and benefits that flow from that relationship. 

John 17:3 (TPT) says this:  "Eternal life means to know and experience you as the only true God, and to know and experience Jesus Christ, as the Son whom you have sent."

You've probably heard the phrase "the truth will set you free" based on the scripture in John 8:32 (KJV) "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." but it's more than just the truth, it the truth that we KNOW that gives us freedom!

The word 'know' in both cases is so much more than to know of or about someone.  It is a word that means to know intimately, as a man knows his wife; the deepest connection that can be shared.    When we know God in that way, the truth about who he is and what he has done will bring us total freedom. 

God longs for us to come to him and experience his loving kindness, his grace and his mercy towards us in such a way that the rest of life's needs are met, almost by accident if you like, as we flourish in that kind of love and freedom in Christ.