There is in the heart of every person—even the toughest—a desire to be truly known and truly loved. Today, we discover that the Good Shepherd offers both.
Scripture Focus: John 10:14-15
"I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, even as the Father knows me and I know the Father."
How deep is this knowledge? Jesus answers: As deep as the knowledge between the Father and the Son. God knows you as well as He knows His one and only Son.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Jesus knows your name—you're not a number to God. He knows your nature, your temperament, your constitutional framework, what makes you you. He knows your needs, your doubts, your weaknesses, your sin. He knows your longings, your fears, your joys. You may feel like you are the smallest, ugliest, most worthless of Christ's sheep, but He knows you deep and intimately—as well as the Father knows the Son and as well as the Son knows the Father.
You're not in the back of Christ's flock. You're upfront, center, beneath His omniscient gaze.
But here's where it gets even better—this knowledge is not one-sided. Verse 14 says, "I know my own and my own know me." This is extended privilege. God has revealed Himself in plain language to the degree that wandering, stumbling, weak, dependent, and helpless sheep know the Shepherd, hear His voice, and love to hear it.
This isn't just God's awareness of information about you. The word "know" here is the Greek word ginōskō—it means intimate relationship. It's the same word used in Genesis 4 where it says "Adam knew Eve." This is covenantal language. This is relationship.
And here's what this knowledge helps us grasp: Jesus Christ did not lay down His life for the postured version of you. So often the life you live is plastic—it looks like something on the outside that possesses a level of dissonance with what's actually happening on the inside. Jesus knows the real you.
Satan is called "the accuser" in Scripture because he stands before God accusing the brethren. He points a finger at the Shepherd's sheep and says, "Don't you know? Don't you know what they've done? Their private life? Their past?"
And the Shepherd says, "I know everything. And I love them. They're my sheep."
The accuser asks, "Will you really die for them?"
And Jesus says, "Oh yeah."
Listen—there is no version of you that Jesus doesn't already know about. No secret sin that would shock Him. No hidden struggle that would make Him reconsider. No past mistake that would cause Him to withdraw His love. He knows it all. He's always known it all. And He died for you anyway.
You don't have to perform for Him. You don't have to clean yourself up before you come to Him. You don't have to present the acceptable version of yourself. He knows you—the real you—and He calls you His own.
1. What parts of yourself are you trying to hide from God? Do you really believe He already knows and loves you anyway?
2. How does knowing that God knows you as well as He knows His own Son change the way you approach Him in prayer?
3. Are you living in relationship with the Shepherd, or just religious activity? Do you know His voice? Do you love to hear it?
Stay dialed in.