To Know and Be Known

“Lord, you know everything there is to know about me. You perceive every movement of my heart and soul, and you understand my every thought before it even enters my mind. You are so intimately aware of me, Lord. You read my heart like an open book and you know all the words I’m about to speak before I even start a sentence!” (Psalm 139:1-4 TPT)

Have you ever played a game like Taboo where teams guess a phrase based on descriptive words spoken by one member?  You can always tell how well people know each other by the way they give clues and the way their partners answer.  Those who are used to intimate communication with each other can come up with references that seem odd to strangers, but make perfect sense to those who know them. 

The desire to know and be known intimately is built into all humans. This is what we seek in our relatives, our spouses, and our friends. Unfortunately, most of us are not tuned in to ourselves or others. Lacking self-awareness, we project false images. We give misleading clues and our partners respond from their own delusory frames of reference. How can we be understood and accepted for who we really are if we insist on being disingenuous? How can we know another person if we fail to pay attention? 

Fortunately, we have a God who understands each of us intimately. He perceives every thought before it enters our mind. He can read us like an open book. He can guess the words before we speak. He cuts through all the pretense, insecurity, and shallowness. He knows us better than we know ourselves. We will never be able to comprehend God in the same way, but we can pay attention. God created us for an intimate relationship. He wants us to seek Him. He wants to be found. He wants to be known.