Fully Known, Truly Loved, Part I

There are two things in life that we all desire.  These two things sit above wealth, possessions, knowledge of things, and much more. 

Those two things are to be fully known and truly loved.  Now what do I mean when I say, “To be truly loved”?  I don’t necessarily mean the kind of love that your family, friends, or even your pets can give you.  I mean the love that goes beyond any of that.  Some of us have never experienced what it means to be truly loved.  Oftentimes we look in the wrong places for love.  Whether it’s possessions, wealth, relationships with people, etc.  None of those things and none of those people will give you the true love that Jesus Christ will give you.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  Love from family and friends is very important.  However, even their love can only go so far. 

Also, what does it mean to be fully known?  The other day I was taking a look back at some notes I had made on Facebook.  Interesting to see all the questionnaires I’ve filled out about myself.  Things from what’s your favorite color, to my favorite movie, and also ridiculous questions like do I take the shampoo bottles from the hotel when I leave? 

Needless to say we all want to be truly loved and fully known.  That’s why we fill out questionnaires.  I’ve always said I haven’t met someone who hasn’t at the very least wanted to share something about their life with someone.  So we want to be truly loved and fully known.  But how does that happen?  The Bible tells us three things that we must know before we can be fully know or truly loved.

The first is that Jesus wants to know that we are his friends.  In John 15:14-15 it says this…

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

In the Old Testament, there are only two people who were called friends of God; Abraham and Moses.  However, because Christ has now come and we too can be friends of Christ.  He says it right here in John!  We are no longer servants, but friends.  And why…because everything that Christ has learned from the Father he has shared with us.

The reason Abraham and Moses were the only two in the Old Testament to be called friends of God is because they were the keepers of the law.  God made himself known to them.  The good news is this, God has made himself fully known to us through Jesus Christ.  And he wants to fully know us as well.

Tomorrow I'm going to post the second scripture where God tells us that we are sons and daughters.  That we are heirs to His love and Kingdom.