As I look back in recent postings… ‘know’ seems to have been motivational for me. I have looked at the word from a variety of perspectives. I think my point is that ‘know’ is far more important and says far more about us that we realize. Do you understand what you know? Know, in my world, is the foundation, motivation, reason for actions/behaviors. And when we do the opposite… we know this too. Know really isn’t difficult to discover and it is always with us – whether or not we apply our knowledge. And, it is totally impossible to unknow. We may ‘forget’ but we can never unknow. Plus – WE are responsible for what we know. Those are foundations for ‘know’.
Do you know, do you understand what you know? Though I may not have studied sufficiently, most of my knows are rooted in scripture so my know does have a firm foundation and not shifting sand. Let me share some of my ‘knows’ These tend to be my top 5 knows, though they are far from exhaustive and sometimes they are a theme on a theme. But if I could only have 5 knows, these would be the ones.
- I know there is only one way and that is Jesus.
Without a belief in Him – who He was, who He said He was, what He did: coming in the form of a man, having a purpose for who He was and what He did {Luke 19:10), taking on the sins of the whole world of mankind to save them from their sins when they believed in Him, dying on a cross for us, and rising again into glory. None of those steps were unimportant – they all had to be accomplished in order for Jesus to save everyone who comes to Him [Acts 4:12, Acts 2:21/38, Romans 10:13-15 are but 4 of the many words and examples of this belief] - I know that I am saved, born again.
Undoubtedly the most important scripture that assures this is true:
“because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].” [Romans 10:9-11] - I know God will never leave me or forsake me.
There are many verses that talk about the faithfulness of the Lord and one of the most significant (my view) of an attribute of His faithfulness is this declaration. [Hebrews 13:5-6, Deuteronomy 31:6-8]. I will never be alone I will always have a companion that sticks closer than a brother. - I know He has given me a gift for the benefit of the body.
My life has meaning and purpose when I discover my place in the body [1 Corinthians 12]. We were never created to be solo voices, apart from the support of the body. And we all were given a gift – not to horde but to share with the rest of the body so that we do grow and occupy while we’re here. Our ‘workplace’ is in the world and we have multiple opportunities to share by our words, by our actions. This marvelous gift of salvation is the beginning of the journey and we share this with all. - I know my ultimate destination is heaven.
This is not my home and I’ve been on this journey to return home for a long time. And what riches await us there. Family and friends who went before us. Continued growth as the person we were meant to be. Opportunities to listen to the teachings of those wise men and women who are always ready to share with us. And so much more.
Knowing is a great gift. It’s part of our foundation and the knowing is our impetus to grow, to learn, to become. Know is not passive. Know is an action word to lead us to further discoveries and explorations. How can we do anything without starting from the basis of … know.
