Stomach Punch

Have you ever read 1John 3? You should. But first, do some crunches or sit-ups or P90x, because you're about to get a firm shot to the breadbasket.

6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.

17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

All this from the disciple Jesus loved.

Location:Columbia Pkwy,Cincinnati,United States

Can you blame them?

Friends of ours recently got a puppy. (Even though they swore they never would.) We hung out with them and their kids and the puppy on Easter. It was interesting to see how they dealt with their new puppy and their kids. It sure seemed like the puppy had full immunity in everything. If he was horse-playing with one of the kids, it was always the kid that got reprimanded when things went too far. When they talked about house breaking and staying in his cage and barking, non of it was the puppy's fault. He didn't know any better, after all.

They couldn't blame the dog, because he didn't know. If he knew better, he wouldn't be any problem at all. Their son knew better, so he was the one who got the harsh tones. He knew.

Paul, in Ephesians, writes the same thing about the Gentiles compared to the Christians.

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice eery kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!

Because they know Christ, they know better.

Notice that Paul does not say, "learned ABOUT Christ." He's talking about an intimate knowledge of the savior. He's talking about having a real relationship with God. It is only this relationship that can turn us from sin. It is only this relationship that can keep us from serving ourselves. It is only this relationship that can keep us on the straight and narrow.

The world is filled with things that entice and enthrall. It tells us what we need to be happy, to be fulfilled, to be whole. If people don't truly, intimately know God they believe everything else. Can you blame 'em?

Knowing v. Being Known

Think back to High School. I know, its painful, but give it a try.

Now, think about those people that you knew, but didn't really know - you know?

At least for me, there were people whose names I knew, but as far as I know they didn't even know who I was. Maybe you were way cooler than me at that age, but for me it there was a huge group of people whose names I knew who I'm pretty sure had no idea who I was. (Okay, these were mostly students in the grades ahead of me. And okay, they were mostly girls. It comes with the age.)

There is a huge difference between knowing someone's name and someone knowing yours. There's something about someone saying your name from memory that lets you know that you matter (at least a little bit) in their world.

The same thing is true with God. We can know all about Him, we can know his name and his likes and dislikes and the names of his friends, but does He know us? We can read all about him and think that we know what he's all about, we can think we have a firm understanding of theology, but if we think we have God figured out, it is a pretty good indicator that we have no idea.

"The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God." - 1 Cor 8:2-3

We're not talking about a God who is concerned with knowledge.

He's a God who cannot even be known. (But that doesn't stop us from trying.)

We're talking about a God who is concerned with Love.

He's a God who will know our name if we love Him. (And that means loving others.)

Knowing v.

Knowledge is power.

Knowing is half the battle.

Knowledge alone is nothing.

Francis Bacon said the first and the second one is the famous ending of so many GI Joe public service announcements. The last one has been said before, but not nearly as much as the former two.

What good is just knowing? It doesn't make things different. It doesn't improve things. It doesn't fix things. It doesn't matter. Acquiring knowledge is easy. It is fun. Understanding a situation makes it seem like we can handle it, like we can deal with it - it puts us at ease. It changes nothing. It placates. It dulls. Knowledge is the opiate of the masses.

So, what then makes a difference?

You don't get to know that

I hate not knowing. I hate feeling like I've been left in the dark or that I've been excluded from some piece of information. Maybe its because I'm a know-it-all or maybe because I've got control issues (If I don't know something, how can I control it?). In a way, I feel like I deserve to know things, either about work or friends' lives. Maybe I feel that because I'm such a good friend or employee I've earned it. Ir maybe it is because I feel like information should be more freely available. Maybe I don't value information enough.

In Acts, after Jesus' resurrection, the disciples ask Jesus if he was (finally) going to restore the kingdom to Israel. His response? "That's not for you to know." Or as the Message puts it, "You don't get to know that."

This is privileged information, it is of great value. They didn't get to know this, and they didn't need to know this. How privileged are we to know what we know? I have access to so much more information than my parents' generation, all at the tips of my fingers. I can instantly find out the best place to park for a Pacer's game in Indianapolis or the weather in Ireland, without putting in much work at all. I also have direct access to almighty God and insight into his plan for my life.

How privileged is that? How could I ask for more than that?