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There is a power in being known. Identity gives us a confidence we need to thrive in this world. It is when we get caught in the well worn strategy of trying to make what we do form the identity we rely on that victim thinking is the result. When we connect thriving to what we do that identity works in a way that just doesn't have the power we are looking for in our lives.
The other problem I see when it comes to being known is that there is a lot of fear surrounding being known. Many of us get paralyzed in this world with the thought that, "If they really knew me they would never want to be around me." As powerful is the drive to be known, the fear of being known is just as strong a force in our lives.
Letting fear of being known be part of a plan of life is such a damaging thing for us all. Victim thinking is fueled by the premise that we will be rejected if others knew who we are. Fact is, that this world has given us example after example of cases that prove this point. Who of us hasn't been rejected by those who should have accepted us in spite of our broken and incomplete understanding of who we are?
I can't tell you how many times I have shared something challenging in my life only to have that discussion used against me in victimizing ways. It is no wonder we are so leery of letting others into our lives like we need them to be. People who don't know who they are are so quick to hurt those of us struggling with not knowing our identities as well.
As a result of the fear of being hurt, I have implemented a strategy of withdrawal when it comes to being open with others. It isn't that I became a hermit. No, what I did was to be ever so guarded in my relationships. I have approached people by being a mile wide and a fraction of an inch deep. This method of self protection did nothing but to make me feel more and more isolated and alone. Though I had, what many would term friends, I wasn't in a place where being known was coming close to ever happening. It is when that hunger for being known isn't being met that victim thinking can really do a lot of damage to those around us.
Today's Bible reading is a great one when it comes to being known. Let's look at our reading now.
My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind. John 10:28-30 (MSG)
For the follower of Jesus Christ, there is such a promise of protection in today's reading. Nothing can separate us from the Love of God. Though the evil of this world is really good at taking our identity and using it against us, God sees us as who we are and lavishes His love on us in spite of how well we represent our God given identity to the world around us.
I find the first sentence of today's reading so amazing. It says, "My sheep recognize my voice." I often wonder if I know the voice of God. Fact is, I do. Want to know something amazing, so do you! I know how hard that statement is to believe. That's because you are doubting who you are. As God's Child, you know His voice. There is no doubt in my mind at all about that fact.
Are you perfect at believing that voice when you hear it? Are you completely obedient in what that voice might be leading you to do in your life? If have a pulse, fact is that the answer to both these questions is, "NO!".
Perfection in living out our identity isn't going to be the case on this side of heaven. Good news is that perfection isn't what God is looking for. God wants us to know who we are and to let that knowledge be what drives us to be known by those around us. It is when we are know who we are that the way others react to our imperfections fail to impact us in the ways that might have driven us to victim thinking in the past.
It is a challenge to be real with one another. I believe God wants us to be wise when we choose who to be real with. Fact is that there is too much of an identity crisis for everyone to be safe when it comes to letting out who we really are. This fact doesn't mean that we should never be open with others. It just means that we need to be aware of who we are sharing with and listen for the shepherd's voice leading the way.
God wants us to be connected. He will use our connections to reveal who we are and who He is in our lives. That kind of revelation in relationship works to make God something that we all can believe in in more profound and impacting ways. Without each other, God's plan for the building of His Kingdom just can't happen. The power of relationship happens when we overcome the fear of being known. The hunger we feel for being known can only happen as we take steps to open up in spite of the fears that we have for being rejected.
All I can say is that we need to be known. We need to know that this God knows and loves us. His knowledge of us hasn't been cause for His rejection of who we are as of this point. Why do we think that His knowing us will ever be the cause of our rejection? If God hasn't rejected mankind yet, I don't think we need to worry about that fact any more in our lives.
As for relating to other, we do need to be careful. Fact is, people will reject us for who we are. We need to have God leading the way when it comes to being known by those around us. Walk with God leading the way. Let Him take you to places where you will need His guidance when it comes to being known by others. What you will find is a closer relationship with Him and a greater impact on the world around you as you let who you are be seen in ever expanding ways.
We are the sheep. He is the shepherd. This combination of identities makes being known something we don't have to fear. Let the power of who you are change your world. Follow God and make your identity be exactly what God says it is. Your victor status depends on your ability to trust your identity as God's Child. Allow that identity empower all you do in your world today.
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