be {known} - part one

Recently I posted a question on Facebook. It simply asked,

"In your opinion, what is the greatest longing of the human heart?"

I received about 42 responses. Most people said they believed love was the greatest longing of the human heart, hands down. Last week I probably would've given the same answer. Just a few people responded, "acceptance." Fewer still gave me the answer I was looking for. 

I believe the greatest longing of the human heart is to be known.

It's what we lost in the Garden. God shows up in the cool of the day after the infamous apple-fest with the local viper and all of a sudden Adam and Eve are in hiding.

"Where are you?" God cried out.

You know it's a bad day when the Creator of the universe has lost you. Seriously though, what exactly was God trying to communicate?

Through their disobedience, Adam and Eve lost their position of knowing. The face-to-Face place. Knowing God and truly knowing one another. The serpent lied to them. They most certainly did feel the pang of death immediately. Not physical death, though I wonder if they wished in that moment that the ground would cover them up forever. No, a fate worse than physical death - separation from the One Who loved them more than life itself.

It was in the knowing that knowledge and wisdom and creativity was passed without effort. It was in the face-to-Face place where their hearts were enlarged and filled to overflowing with the love of God. Intimacy was cultivated, and life was abundant. God knew Adam, Adam knew Eve and children were born. Fruitfulness comes from this place of knowing and being known.

You see, love cannot possibly be the greatest longing of the human heart, because love is a symptom of being known.

Jesus knew the importance of being known, and tried to bring revelation to His disciples. He wanted them to experience first-hand the wonder and excitement of it all.

17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

18He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.20However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

21At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do."

{Luke 10:17-21 NIV}

Please wrap your heart around what Jesus just said. Don't rejoice that demons are subject to you, but instead rejoice that HEAVEN KNOWS YOUR NAME. When we receive a revelation that our very names are written in the records of heaven, hope comes. Joy comes! That heaviness you've been carrying - obliterated. That hopelessness and despair that's been clinging to you like a straight-jacket? Gone! When you carry a revelation that you are known in heaven, it's not much of a stretch to begin to imagine all of heaven's resources at your disposal to accomplish everything God has called you to do. It's not hard to believe that angels are sent to minister to you, or that God loves you. It's easy. Start asking Him for the revelation that you are known. He longs to reveal Himself to you! Don't be surprised when He blows your mind with His goodness. His favorite place in the universe is face-to-Face with you. Jesus paid a steep price through dying on a cross to have that blessed privilege.

Jesus is looking you in the eyes right this moment. Can you see Him? Listen to what He is whispering to your anxious heart:

"I KNOW who you are. You are Mine!"

Legacy

I think a lot about legacy...especially in seasons like this one.

Monday we got the call that my husband's uncle had passed away unexpectedly. Probably from a heart attack. That morning he had told his girlfriend of the past 14 years that he loved her, and to "Take care of yourself!" Hours later he was gone. Yesterday we had his funeral.

I've experienced death more than I care to speak about here. Beginning with my father when I was only 16, then my grandmother a year later, another uncle, a favorite great-aunt, my father's mother...no, I'm no stranger to death. And it makes me stop every time and ask myself: "What kind of legacy will I leave behind?" "Who will grieve my loss?" "What mark will I leave on those that I love, and those that I don't?" "Did I lead others down paths that are full of life?" "Did I lead them to Jesus?" "Did I live my life transparently?"

And the biggest question of all:
"Did I love well?"

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

Letters from Vietnam

Last weekend my daughter Madison and I were sorting through mounds of pictures I have of my family. My two older children will be graduating next May, and we needed pictures for their yearbook. As I pulled down one of the many boxes from my bedroom closet, I noticed a stack of letters I didn't recognize, held in a quart-sized ziploc bag. There must have been about 50 or so. Glancing at the address and postmarked date on the front of the first letter, I realized that these were letters my grandmother had received from my father while he was on his first and second tours in Vietnam with the Army.

I have no idea how I have these letters. I don't remember my grandmother giving them to me before she died, and I've never read them before. I don't have hardly anything from my dad. He passed away when I was 16 years old. Needless to say, I held the stack of treasures to my heart and absolutely wept.

This morning I spent the first two hours sitting in bed reading slowly through every word he wrote. There are things in these letters I never knew about my dad...like he planned to be a Minister of Music one day. He loved taking pictures, and would send my grandmother slides of all the places he would go. How I wish I had those slides! And at one point, he was finally forced to engage the enemy. He must have received a medal for this experience, and these were his thoughts on the matter:

"Mom, about the medals and all that riff-raff. For my own part, I don't want any. All they are good for is to wear on your dress uniform and have some yo-yo come up and ask what they are and how you got them. I know what I have done and I hope someday to forget. I'm sure not proud of what is done in order to get a piece of tin for your chest. Most people at home don't understand what war is all about. They don't know how it is to be made into a human "god" with power over life and death. Or to sometimes see a helicopter with friends of yours start taking rounds and finally to go down in an inaccessible place and finally to know that there's nothing in your power to help them - except pray. No, Mom, I'm not a hero because I have a heart and a conscience. Heroes have only ice-water where blood should be."

There are stories he held in his heart that tormented him severely when he would sleep at night. But again and again he would say that it was worth it. He was protecting his family back home...protecting the freedoms we enjoy and often take for granted. We owe them so much.

Today our country is celebrating Veteran's Day. I can't tell you how proud I am of the men in my family who have served this fine country, and the women who have faithfully stood behind them. When I look at our flag, it is a constant reminder of the blood, sweat and tears our men and women of the armed forces have committed to seeing her continue to fly for the next generation.

Please join me in honoring our veterans today...and every day.