Half Known and Half Loved

If our life is like a cup, there is much of its contents that we keep hidden at the bottom. We do this naturally. Sediment sinks, and, while I prefer my coffee french pressed, I usually leave the last few sips - there's just too much junk down there.

This is our life. Every one of us has "too much junk" that we either tuck away, or that we quietly press to the bottom. We like offering others the first few sips because they are the best. Should they get too deep, we conveniently remove our cup from the table of life. If they taste that part, they are sure to send us away. They are sure to reject us.

And so we go about life superficially. Knowing only the good in others, and only being known for the good in ourselves (I say "good" with reservation).

But there are at least three major problems with this way of living. First, our cups are transparent. They are the see-through kind. We may push our sediment to the bottom, but people see it eventually. It takes only a moment for the eyes to follow the contours of the cup from top to bottom. Soon people see that we really aren't "doing okay" and that we are less than honest. Our clothes and courtesies are not very good at diverting people away from our corruptions.

The second problem with this way of life is that when we are half known, we feel only half loved. Our lives are enslaved to constant fear and anxiety of being "found out" and consequently rejected. Our relationships are, at best, superficial and disingenuous. We text more than we talk, we give fake answers to significant questions, we commonly use humor as a diversion tactic, and we find ourselves feasting at the table of impersonal products that "like us" like Facebook, twitter and iWhatever.

The third problem with this way of life is orthodoxy. Unfortunately for us "hiders" the Lord knows all. He knows the sediment, the corruption, the sins. And, sadly for us, he has a strict taste for only the finest of drinks. Should our sediment touch his palate, he would surely forsake us, spitting us out.

But his love is strong. This is the good news. Because he knows the bottom of our cup completely, he mercifully removes the condemnation completely. In his justice, he places it in the cup of his Son, and forsakes him instead. This happened at the Cross. In his grace, he gave us the perfection of his Son and accepted us accordingly. This is called justification.

Because of Christ, we can live honest lives - transparent lives. We are free to live without fear of others knowing the bottom of our cup. We are a forgiven people - all of us. And being wholly known, we know we are wholly loved. And being wholly loved, we can wholly love.