“A person is a heart soul and strength complex designed for love, who really needs to flourish, to be recognized by other persons as a person, and whether or not we get that recognition is much of the drama of human life.”-- Andy Crouch
Our Western world has long emphasized knowledge—factual information and “proof”—over the process of being known by God and others. No wonder, then, that despite all our technological advancements and the proliferation of social media, we are more . . . isolated than ever. Yet it is only when we are known that we are positioned to become conduits of love. And it is love that transforms our minds, makes forgiveness possible, and weaves a community of disparate people into the tapestry of God’s family.” ― Dr. Curt Thompson
What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it—the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of his hands [Isa. 49:16]. I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. . . He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters. This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort. . . There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me. —J.I. Packer, Knowing God
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read the quote from Andy Crouch above. How does your drive “to be recognized by other persons as a person” motivate you to do what you do? In what ways do human persons tend to fail at truly recognizing us?

(v.8-9.) An idol (a “not-god”) is any created thing we look to to give us something only God can give. We feel good when they work for us, and we feel crushed when they fail us. What are the good created things that you go to for meaning/identity/purpose? In what ways can religious activity or human moral effort serve as an idol?


Compare Matt. 7:21-23 & John 17:3, 20-26. What does knowing God mean, according to Jesus? What does it NOT mean?



(v. 11-20) How does Paul describe his experience in ministry? How is is different from the false teachers?

(v. 11, 19) Where are the places/people that need your “labor”? How can you embrace discomfort so that others can experience God’s welcoming love?

Read the quote from J.I. Packer above. How does remembering that God knows you (inside and out!) and still loves you, free you from the temptation to worship idols? How does it free you to love others?

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