FAMILIES SHARING HOPE
  • Blog
  • Resource Links
  • Books
    • News to Make You Weep
  • Prayer Requests
  • Contact
  • Connecting with Community

if you truly know me can you truly love me?

9/4/2015

0 Comments

 
I have been trying to find a verse that I have found a blessing in the past, but could not locate it. Today it sort of dropped in my lap and in seeking to be more confident in my understanding, I feel I have learned that it is really much more wonderful than I thought.

Bear with me, because this is special.  In Isaiah 43:1 the Bible speaks of God "knowing our names" or in some translations "giving us our names" and that is pretty special. The whole idea of God knowing my name rather blows me away, but when I started looking more fully at this verse I found this translation in the Jewish Hebrew Bible:
Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy shem; thou art Mine.

So I wanted to understand shem more clearly and I learned that although the King James Bible uniformly translates this as "name" (and it does sometimes mean that) that in this verse a functional SHEM definition is more like this: 'the essential reality of who someone is'. 

Wow. God knows the essence of who I am. Now in some ways that is pretty scary because I know better than anyone every unholy impulse, unkind thought, uncaring gesture that I am both capable of and guilty of.  So look at what God has said here: "Don't be afraid for I have redeemed you." That means that God finds me worthy and He goes on to call me His own! God is saying, "I know ALL about you and love you completely, long for your highest good, have planned a future for you of peace and hope and purpose."

As usual, God has so much more for me than I expect for myself. He does not just know my name; He knows the real me and cares about me and saves me and claims me.

Wow. I mean, really, Wow.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    CHECK IT OUT:
    BOOKS TAB 
    ​News Tab


    For information on meetings use the "contact" button above or call Jann @ 816-896-9815


    Author

    Jann's son was incarcerated.  She longed for a community where she could connect with others dealing with similar issues.

    Categories

    All

    Archives

    January 2023
    April 2022
    March 2022
    July 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    May 2018
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.