The difference between knowing and KNOWING

“Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.” -2 Corinthians 7:1

How Life Works
Life in general is all about responding to realities or, at least, perceived realities. I love Paul’s radical lifestyle because it was the result of heavily rational reasoning. He was a radically rational man.

The heart of this verse is at work in every human being. The difference: what are these promises/truths, and, what is the appropriate response?

What Drove Paul
For Paul, being loved by God, rescued, and brought into his family (promise/truth), compelled him to annihilate everything that resembled the old way of life, the old family, and fully reflect the holiness of his new Father (appropriate response).

It’s kind of like the kid who reflects on being rescued from a horrible foster family into a perfect loving family by a self-sacrificing father. When he thinks about his own ugliness, the terrors of his past life, the cost his new dad paid to redeem and adopt him, and the goodness of his new life that comes from this family, a desire naturally rises from within. No one has to tell him. Stumble though he may, his heart longs to be rid of everything that resembles his past family and become like the father and family who now call him “son.” He, like everyone, is just doing what we cannot help but do: become what we most love and adore.

knowing and KNOWING
Apathy or disdain towards this holiness or God-likeness the verse talks about may be more, but it is never less then a failure to see and savor (that means really know and understand) the story of the gospel. And this is the difference between knowing and KNOWING.

Knowing that God gave his son to save me is one level of knowing. I never forget this. But it’s the shallowest level of knowing. And my response to this knowledge alone is weak, bottom line. But when I learn about the whole story, the significance of everything, down to every little detail, my heart jumps out in longing. Longing for my rescuer. When I KNOW in this way, my heart burns to respond in loving obedience. I have a hard time remembering this.

In My Life
I’ve learned, and keep learning, that my actions reflect what my heart is responding to. If I really want to change, I need to get back to the source of what my heart is seeing–truth. I need to remember these truths that God has revealed through the Bible and spend time meditating on them (that means thinking about what something means and trying to explain its significance with examples and stories in life). This is one reason why I love watching movies and reading novels. It’s all so different, but seeing God’s truths retold through these mediums helps me to KNOW what the Bible is talking about, and adore Jesus in a deeper way than before.

The more clearly I see him, the more I love and adore him. And obedience to him becomes more and more like breathing. I think this is why Jesus said things like, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

Food for Thought
After looking at your life, what truths are you truly responding to? What truths or promises do you have the hardest time really knowing and understanding? What are some examples and stories that most help you to “see and savor” various truths?