With social media and texting, you would think becoming knowable would be so much easier. Not so! In fact, social media is a key factor in the growth of loneliness to an epidemic state.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has said, ”In the last few decades, we’ve just lived through a dramatic pace of change. We move more, we change jobs more often, we are living with technology that has profoundly changed how we interact with each other and how we talk to each other. And you can feel lonely even if you have a lot of people around you, because loneliness is about the quality of your connections.”
As Christians, how can we improve the quality of our connections? I believe it has to do with becoming knowable.
God Is Knowable!
One of the primary truths of Scripture is that God is knowable. He is knowable through His creation, the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit. And Jesus has shown us by His life here on earth how we can become knowable, too.
Creation: “They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:19-20 NLT
Holy Scriptures: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” II Timothy 3:16 NLT
Holy Spirit: “But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.” I Corinthians 2:10-12 NLT
We Can Become Knowable in Spite of Our Imperfections
English philosopher John Locke said, “God, when He makes a prophet, does not unmake the man.” We can become knowable in spite of our limitations, imperfections, and humanness, all which forms material for the Divine Sculptor. Individuality is not destroyed or suppressed but developed and sanctified by the Maker of men.
A perfect life is not needed to be knowable! We need not hide ourselves in fear or shame. II Corinthians 3:2-3 NASB says, “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” The Corinthian church was blotted with serious imperfections. Still their general conduct could exhibit such an approximation to the Spirit of Christ that the apostle Paul could afford to spread it open before all men, asking them to read and know it. It is not, therefore, our imperfections which disqualify us from being known and read by all.
Becoming Knowable: Principles of Self-Disclosure
Having established this, how then do we become knowable? When Jesus walked on earth, He showed us principles of self-disclosure. Here are 10 observations I have made of how Christ revealed Himself while on earth.
- He looked for those who had a heart to understand, those whom the Father was drawing. “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” John 6:44a NASB
- He did not speak on the same level to everyone. He spoke in parables. “And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ He answered and said to them, ‘Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.’” Matthew 10:10-13 NKJV
- He had circles of friendship and associations — a group of 70, a circle of 12, a circle of 3, and His closest confidant, John.
- He desired to be known and understood and got frustrated when people still weren’t getting it. “Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:9 NKJV
- He didn’t go out of His way to explain Himself to those who really didn’t care to know Him. “Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, ‘How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.’” John 10:24-26 NKJV
- He spoke privately to His disciples regarding His mission. He drew Peter, James, and John aside for exclusive disclosure. “Now it came to pass…that He took Peter, John, and James and went up on the mountain to pray.” Luke 9:28 NKJV
- He showed favor, not favoritism. He showed favor to John because of his ability to understand and respond to His love. John described himself as the disciple whom Jesus kept on loving. “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” John 13:23 NKJV
- He did not operate in full and complete disclosure; rather it was partial and gradual and more intensive as His time drew near. “His disciples said to Him, “See, now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech! Now we are sure that You know all things, and have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God.” John 16:29-30 NKJV
- He did not entrust Himself to everyone because He knew what was in the heart of man. “But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” John 2:24-25 NKJV
- He DID entrust Himself to His disciples, including Judas, although He knew what was in his heart. “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” John 13:1 NKJV
Next week I will share some applications of these principles for our own lives, as well as the model of loneliness and intimacy in the life of Christ.
~ Janet Mueller, writer
~ Cathy Schrock, mixed media artist and creator of “Embrace Imperfections”
