| “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father— and I lay down my life for the sheep.” |
| —John 10:14-15 |
Every person on earth has an innate desire to know and to be known. We all want to feel a sense of belonging. Somehow, in our deepest internal “wiring,” we need to experience a comfort that comes when we feel connected to others. Please let me illustrate.
Humorist and radio show host, Garrison Keillor, tells about traveling on a bus with his great aunt. In listening to him tell of this impressive jaunt for a small boy, the listener can tell that he really liked this older lady. She had a good sense of humor and knew exactly how to handle a young boy who, even at his tender age, was quite a bit of a smart alec.
Keillor describes how, before boarding the bus, he suggested that, though they would sit together, they would pretend that they didn’t know each other. It was a game that, at first since it was his idea, Keillor entered into with enthusiasm.
He described how they boarded the bus, sat down, and pretended to ignore each other until the bus left the terminal. Then, Keillor inquired where this nice lady was from and where she was headed.
To his surprise, his aunt chose to respond very curtly to him, much as she might have responded to a complete stranger. Keillor tried several times to engage his aunt in conversation, but she kept to her role as someone he didn’t really know. Finally, in exasperation tinged with concern, Keillor said, “You do know me.”
“I don’t know you from a hill of beans,” Keillor’s aunt replied.
“Yes you do,” Keillor quickly responded.
“No, I don’t. And, if you don’t stop bothering me, I’m going to report you to the bus driver. So, just leave me alone.”
Keillor was floored. The game was fun for a while. Now the reality of this “we’re strangers” game had much more negative aspects to it than he had originally imagined. He began to whimper and through his tears declared, “Yes you do know me and I know you. We are known to each other.”
Every person on earth wants to know and be known. There is something about our God-given pre-wiring that makes us have a need for interpersonal contact with others.
If you doubt this, watch very small children in pre-school. It will never be long before the children begin to make contact with other children and start to form social groups. In fact, students of child psychology have written volumes about the socialization of young children as predictors of their behavior in later life.
We all want to know and be known. This makes Jesus’ words, as recorded in John 10:14-15, so very important to us:
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
To know and to be known—and especially by the God who loves us—is a most powerful reality for those who have responded to the irresistible wooing of the Holy Spirit. We can feel such a sense of wonder and amazement that God longs for a relationship with us. He wants to fellowship with us. He wants to pour out His love and affection for us in such a strong measure that we cannot begin to comprehend the enormity of that love.
During this Season of Advent, as we celebrate both the first and second coming of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ, let us allow His words of love to penetrate into the very core of our being: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”
We know and are known. On this new day, what a comfort, what an amazement, what a blessing this is to us.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, December 6, 2016
