"Or rather are known by God"

Recently, while I was reading Galatians 4, I was struck by this phrase. Paul is referring to a turning poing in the lives of his readers and starts out, the way I would, "But now that you know God..." But then he seems to correct himself, and adds, "-- or rather are known by God --..." In other words, it looks like he's saying the key is not the fact that we now know God, but that He knows us.

I've been thinking about this great need we have to be known. Isn't that a lot of the motivation behind our desire to post things on Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, blogs? Didn't we love Show-and-Tell as kids, because we got to share a small part of who we are with others? When we move to a new city, isn't it gratifying when we finally make new friends who really know us?

I remember being distinctly aware of this desire to be known at a deep level during the summer I spent at Oxford. There I was, experiencing all the things I had dreamed of --seeing magnificent castles, gorgeous countrysides, quaint old bookstores -- and yet I kept longing to share all of it with someone who actually knew me (as opposed to 75 strangers in my dorm/college). I think I was a bit of a nutcase that summer, on emotional overload. (By the end of the summer I had made some good friends, finally, and God even graciously let me borrow my best friend's friend, who I stumbled into, almost literally, randomly -- but that's a different story.)

Anyway, I think it's cool that God has put that desire in us to be known, and then, as the turning point in our lives, shows us that He knows us. Sometimes it doesn't feel like enough... and I look forward to that day when it will all be complete: "Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (I Cor 13:12)

But for now, it's a good goal to remind myself to cling to the truth that He knows me.

"The Lord is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
He knows those who take refuge in Him." -- Nahum 1:7