“But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.”—1 Corinthians 8:3

“Someone once asked, “Do you know God?” But there’s a question that is far more important: Does God know you? The issue on the great day of judgment will not be whether you know God but whether God knows you. 

“How horrifying to think you know God, only to discover that He doesn’t know you! The issues at risk here are of eternal consequence. There can be no more fundamentally important question than this: What must I do to be known by God? 

“The answer has everything to do with my secret life with God. He wants me to enter the secret place, sit before Him, remove every façade and mask of pretense, and reveal to Him the innermost secrets of my heart. He wants me to unveil my face before Him (2 Corinthians 3:18) and let Him see the real me. The good, the bad, the ugly—all of it…I am changing more and more into the image of Christ, but during the process I allow Him to see the naked truth of my brokenness and carnality. 

“The human tendency is to hide and cover up. If we try to hide our true condition from Him, not only do we deceive ourselves, but we also hold ourselves back from being known by Him. 

“Judas Iscariot serves as a compelling example of a man who was incredibly close to Jesus but yet didn’t allow Jesus into the secrets of his heart. He had a major problem with stealing, but He refused to confess it and bring it into the light…Judas illustrates the terrifying truth that it’s possible to spend lots of time in the presence of Jesus and still not be known by Him. 

“Jesus can handle the confessions of our actual struggles; what He can’t handle is when we hide them and pretend they don’t exist. The secret place is no place for secrets. It’s the place for total honesty and full disclosure. When we reveal our struggles, He releases the grace to help us change. When we confess our struggles to Him, He lavishes us with acceptance and ownership. He says, ‘Since you’re willing to show Me your inner ugliness, I am willing to confess you before My Father and claim you as My own!’

“The greatest intimacy is found in the mutual giving of ourselves radically to each other. The cross demonstrates how radically He gives Himself to me, and my embracing of the cross is my giving myself back to Him with lavish abandonment. Not only am I honest with Him; I search for ways to give even more of my heart to Him. 

“One reason we find such delight in surrendering our lives to Christ’s leadership is because He never misunderstands us…He always knows exactly what we’re thinking and what is motivating us. 

“How can we be known by God?…When we open our hearts to Him in loving abandonment, He embraces us and knows us. What a joyful privilege—to have a knowing relationship with God Almighty!”—Bob Sorge

My Prayer

“Lord, woe is me if You don’t accept me because I have not fully disclosed myself to You. Woe am I! Lord, I lay myself naked and bare again today. See me as I am, with all my faults and failures. You are my redeemer and I am not ashamed to be totally vulnerable before You. I will not continue to busy myself with so many high things if I have not yet emptied myself of me and presented myself to You as I truly am. Forgive me for the times I have practiced hypocrisy and I have been pretentious. Forgive me Lord. See me as I am, without one plea but that Your blood was shed for me. And on the basis of that blood, kindly accept me as Your beloved, both now in the present and for all eternity. Thank You for I have the assurance of Your acceptance. I live in and rejoice in the privilege of being known by You. May I never take it for granted and abuse the honor. May I ever live as a transparent vessel before You. In Jesus name. Amen.”

The Challenge

Live transparently before your God. No hiding. No pretending. Present yourself as you are—and He will accept you fully as you are.