Knowledge is Not the Same as Knowing

Having knowledge of something is very different from knowing something.  Same with people.  You may know of someone, but you may not really know them.  Just because you may know of Tom Cruise it does not mean that you know him-know him, personally.  It is not until you have a conversation and open the doors to a personal relationship with someone do you really truly begin to get to know someone.

So, think of some of the people that you say you know.  Do you really know them?  Or do you just know a collection of facts about them?  To know someone is to have a personal relationship with them.  In the Acts of the Apostles, a Jewish man named Apollos was teaching people about Jesus but all he knew was the “baptism of John.”  Then we are told two people who contemporaries of St. Paul, Priscilla and Aquila, took him aside and taught him more about Jesus.  In my mind I saw this as them sharing with Apollos what they’ve learned about Jesus through His disciples, but also teaching him how to pray, which is really the way by which we enter into relationship with Jesus.  Then Apollos was sent out to teach people about Jesus now with a newfound zeal, one that comes with encounter with Jesus through a personal relationship with Him.  So, do you know Jesus or do you have knowledge of Him?  Do you have a personal relationship with Him?  Do you pray?

As with our own relationships with people in our lives - do we really know them?  Do we talk with them?  Do we listen to them?  Do we spend time with them?  If no, then we do not really know them. Take some time and think about your relationships.  Are there any that you need to take a closer look at?  Are there some that I claim to be friends with but do not really nurture the friendship?  If so, how then are you friends?

In our personal relationships, with one another and with the Lord, we must spend time with them to really claim to know them.  And we spend time with the Lord through prayer.  Think of prayer as an encounter you have with your friends - talking, sharing stories, telling jokes, laughing, venting, etc.  Do that with Jesus, too.  Only by spending time with Him will you have a personal relationship with Him.  And only then can you claim to know Him.  Only when you have come to know Him can you come to trust Him and love Him.  So, with all of our relationships, we first must know before we can genuinely trust and love another.  

 So, do I know my friends and the Lord or do I only have knowledge of them?

Lord Jesus, teach me to spend time with you and with those who I call my friends and loved ones so that I can truly come to know them and so love them.  Give me the desire to persevere in my relationships, especially my relationship with You, so that I may experience the true joy, love, and peace that you so desire to give me. 

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