Knowing and Knowing

There are different kinds of "knowing." It’s possible to understand everything, explain it and memorize it, and yet still miss the point. Knowledge can stay in your head without ever reaching your heart.

In this episode of The Chosen, Philip tells Matthew, "No amount of learning can bring you any closer." Matthew is eager to study, memorize, and write down every detail. His desire to learn is good, but he still has something to discover: real understanding is not only intellectual.

Scripture gives the same reminder. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul warns that knowledge on its own makes a person proud. But love builds up. Love forms, strengthens, and deepens.

In Ephesians, Paul writes that he prays believers would know the love of Christ, a love that surpasses knowledge. In other words, there is a kind of knowing that goes beyond information. It is the kind of knowing that changes everything.

Think about the love of Jesus:
How He knows every detail of your story.
How He gave Himself on the cross for you.
How He is involved in every part of your life.
That is the kind of knowing – the kind of love – that transforms.

Later in the episode, the disciples discuss the idea that we must first be holy before the Messiah can come. Mary then says, "I don't think He is waiting for us to be holy. I think He's here because we can't be holy without Him."

That is the heart of the gospel. Jesus did not come because humanity had it all figured out. He came because it was never going to work without Him.

And He does not call us to know more and more information. He calls us to know Him – the One whose love goes deeper than understanding.

So pursue that kind of knowing. Reach out for the love that surpasses knowledge. And let the love of Christ transform you from the inside out.

Reflection Questions

• What comes to mind when you think of the love of Jesus?
• How does meditating on his love affect your heart, choices, or view of yourself?
• How might you grow in knowledge, especially personal knowledge of Jesus Himself?
• Are you trying to fix your own life, or are you inviting Jesus into the places that feel messy or unfinished?

Prayer

Lord, Your ways are beyond understanding, and yet You invite me to know You. Thank You for revealing yourself. Please help me to know You more and more. Amen.