About CFC
You are known by God
By Nicky Barton
15th February 2012 | Category: Join the Journey 2012
Key Verse
“Onyx stones were placed in gold settings, and each one was engraved with the name of one of Israel’s sons. Then they were attached to the shoulder straps of the apron, so the Lord would never forget his people.”
Central truth
Central truth: God knows us... and yet still loves us consistently!
Main Content
It’s the day after Valentine’s Day.
I’m sure those who received Valentine Cards or went out for a lovely meal yesterday are feeling all “loved up”. I never could understand why the cards had to be anonymous. When I fancied a girl, I wanted to make sure she knew it was me – so I used to add all sorts of hints.
God is kind of the same. He has written a love letter and leaves all sorts of hints. But the difference is that His love isn’t for a day or even a season. It is constant and never changes. That is what blows me away. It is easy to be romantic on Valentine’s Day, to hide our irritating habits, to be the person we think the other person wants us to be. But to carry it on over a period of time is exhausting.
My wife tells me that I got her under false pretences. We started going out together on the 2nd of the month and every month on the 2nd I would give her a small gift. Then we got married and she was very disappointed when the gifts stopped. (I told her the gifts were a bit like God providing manna for the Israelites. He stopped as soon as they entered the Promised Land!)
How often do we approach God and pretend to be the person that we think He wants us to be? It is exhausting!
In Exodus we have the High Priest being adorned with the names of the Israelites as part of his outfit. And we know that they weren’t perfect. But God loved them and wanted to be reminded of them, despite their failings.
In the Psalms, the psalmist is convinced that God is intimately aware of everything that is happening in his life (the good and the bad) and calls on God to intervene.
God knows us! Not in the sense of a Judge, who is constantly weighing up between the good and the bad. But in the sense of a best friend – who knows our foibles and still wants to spend time with us.
In Mark, we have Jesus being appointed as our High Priest, to represent us in God’s throne room. He does the same thing as the engraved stones, He reminds God of who we are and how much God loves each one of us.
Consider:
In what ways do you try and be the person that you think God wants you to be?
Who in your life would be your “best friend”, who loves you, warts and all? It would be nice to tell them how much you appreciate their love.
How can you be that sort of friend to those closest to you?
God knows you! How might that change the way you think about your relationship with God today?
Nicky Barton
Hi. I’m Nicki, married to a wonderful woman, Grainne, and blessed with 3 fantastic kids – Aisling, Rory, and Rachel. They keep me sane and make me laugh whenever I threaten to become a “grumpy old man” and continue to love me whenever I make mistakes. We are fortunate to have 2 sets of parents/grandparents, who are great role models and are instrumental in shaping who we, as a family, have become.
