Jesus Knows You
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Daily Reading: John 5:31 – 47
Focus Passage:
"I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" (Jn. 5:41 – 44)
In the Gospels, Jesus knew the inner landscape of people. In fact, Jesus knew the inscape of persons better than they knew themselves. He knew the purposes, loves, and motivations which reside at the heart of a person. “I know,” he said, “that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.”
He knows humans, that we are divided and that our lives are spent in many different pursuits.
He knows that we are distracted, that we easily turn aside from that which is most central to life, in order to chase the mundane.
He knows that we live disconnected from a deep sense of meaning and purpose.
He also knows that humans “accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from God.” We are addicted to attention, hungry for someone to notice us, yearning for praise and recognition. We love to be loved.
An attention-addiction can easily drive life out of control, so we become persons who continually seek praise from others. We then wear masks or create personas which will gain the attention for which we hunger. It is easy to see how we begin to live life with other people in mind, trying to manipulate our behavior in order to get recognition from someone else. Our lives become externally driven, rather than led by the nudging of God’s Spirit.
In spirituality, the name for this life of pleasing others and attention seeking is the “false self.” The false self is an illusory self, the mask that we wear in order to manipulate what we need from others. It is the ego living with the I-self at the center. It seeks its own profit, its own gain. Some contemporary writers call it “the imposter self.”
On the other hand, the “true self” – the God-created self at our core – orbits around God. God is the center. The life orbiting around God seeks the glory of God.
The fact that Jesus knows you is not meant to intimidate, but rather to put you at ease. Jesus knows your purposes, your motives, and your deepest loves, which frees you for a more grounded connection with God. God knows everything about you, about your illusory self, about your failed attempts to live faithfully . . . and still reaches toward you in love, mercy, and compassion.
God knows you, not to condemn you, but in order to draw you more deeply into God’s heart.
For Reflection:
How do you feel when hearing “Jesus knows everything about you”?
Bring that notion into your prayer. Reflect on it in your journal. As you think about this total knowing, be honest. Jesus already knows you. It is part of what it means to be the you you truly are.
Daily Reading: John 5:31 – 47
Focus Passage:
"I do not accept glory from human beings, but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts. I have come in my Father's name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" (Jn. 5:41 – 44)
In the Gospels, Jesus knew the inner landscape of people. In fact, Jesus knew the inscape of persons better than they knew themselves. He knew the purposes, loves, and motivations which reside at the heart of a person. “I know,” he said, “that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.”
He knows humans, that we are divided and that our lives are spent in many different pursuits.
He knows that we are distracted, that we easily turn aside from that which is most central to life, in order to chase the mundane.
He knows that we live disconnected from a deep sense of meaning and purpose.
He also knows that humans “accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from God.” We are addicted to attention, hungry for someone to notice us, yearning for praise and recognition. We love to be loved.
An attention-addiction can easily drive life out of control, so we become persons who continually seek praise from others. We then wear masks or create personas which will gain the attention for which we hunger. It is easy to see how we begin to live life with other people in mind, trying to manipulate our behavior in order to get recognition from someone else. Our lives become externally driven, rather than led by the nudging of God’s Spirit.
In spirituality, the name for this life of pleasing others and attention seeking is the “false self.” The false self is an illusory self, the mask that we wear in order to manipulate what we need from others. It is the ego living with the I-self at the center. It seeks its own profit, its own gain. Some contemporary writers call it “the imposter self.”
On the other hand, the “true self” – the God-created self at our core – orbits around God. God is the center. The life orbiting around God seeks the glory of God.
The fact that Jesus knows you is not meant to intimidate, but rather to put you at ease. Jesus knows your purposes, your motives, and your deepest loves, which frees you for a more grounded connection with God. God knows everything about you, about your illusory self, about your failed attempts to live faithfully . . . and still reaches toward you in love, mercy, and compassion.
God knows you, not to condemn you, but in order to draw you more deeply into God’s heart.
For Reflection:
How do you feel when hearing “Jesus knows everything about you”?
Bring that notion into your prayer. Reflect on it in your journal. As you think about this total knowing, be honest. Jesus already knows you. It is part of what it means to be the you you truly are.
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