seen & known

the leper

the unclean

the woman

the child

the fisherman

the adultress

the widow

the poor

the mother

the hurting

the downhearted

the servant

the immigrant

the oppressed

Over and over in the Gospels, we read that Jesus saw them.  He acknowledged their struggles, heard their pleas for healing, witnessed their sacrifices, and healed their brokenness.  He defended the lost, weak, and oppressed.  He spoke truth to the religious authorities.  He corrected those who were wrong.  He gathered around tables with friends and sinners.  He touched those who were unclean, untouchable.  He saw faith and rewarded it.  He walked with friends - male and female.  He taught that there was no hierarchy of gender, race, or position.  He spoke of religious past and shared a new way to walk out a faith.  He was moved to compassion.  He wept.  He grieved.  He looked into the eyes of all people.  He favored no one.  He looked at others and made sure they knew that they were known.

the husband struggling in his marriage

the woman seeking a spouse

the child crying for attention

the woman weeping over the loss of her child

the older woman feeling alone

the addict struggling to say no

the woman desperately wanting a child

the child desperately wanting a mother

the anxious girl navigating high school

the fearful boy trying to look successful

the dying man receiving chemo 

the tired momma rocking her colicky baby

the pastor preaching to blank faces with empty smiles

Our Jesus sees you, and He knows you.  

I believe that we all have a craving to be seen and known.  We were created with this desire for a reason and purpose - to seek God.

As small children, we seek that sense of feeling known from our parents, siblings, and random strangers at stores.  We blurt out the first thing to pop into our heads, we throw ourselves down in the store aisles, and we perform through song and dance trying to earn a laugh or applause from our parents.  We reach our arms up and demand to be held.  We cry when we want something.  

As teenagers, we push the boundaries at home seeking the attention from our parents.  We try different personalities, dressing for the part we are playing.  We scour social media, searching for what will make us happy by looking at the images our peers are posting.  We sit in the front raising our hands so we can be heard, or we hide in the back trying to control who sees us.  

As young adults, we continue to play parts: young wife, new dad, business professional, and homeowner.  We try to walk with confidence wanting to be noticed.  Desiring to be known, we jump into and out of different friend groups: churches, neighbors, work, and the latest social activity.  We know we don’t know everything and we feel lost, yet we continue to push forward, searching but exuding certainty. 

As we enter our 30s and 40s, we gain more confidence in who we are to the world.  We have realized that in so many ways it is exhausting to play roles, yet we are still seeking.  We begin to realize that seeking to be seen and known by other human beings can be such a disappointment because we are all selfish, sinful people.  We look at our lives and discover that our plans, dreams, and hopes didn’t come to fruition. Not necessarily in a bad way, but our lives just aren’t what we thought they would be by our 40s.

As our children become parents and we enter the last few decades of our lives, we may experience loss and loneliness.  The elderly woman sitting at home waiting for a phone call or visit from her busy son.  An elderly man roaming the halls of his retirement community searching for companionship and conversation.  All of life’s experiences don’t erase the desire, because the desire is rooted in our very make up.  Humans want to be seen .  Humans want to be known.  

For those who are willing to really reflect upon our actions, words, and motivations, we realize with great clarity that the times when we truly felt seen and known wasn’t by our spouses, kids, churches, bosses, or friends.  The seeing eyes of Jesus and knowing that He loves us regardless of how well we perform is the reason we have felt moments of being known and seen. The knowing and seeing produces in us freedom.  Freedom to be ourselves.  Freedom to fail.  Freedom to try.  

Jesus sees us and knows us.  He likes us.  He cherishes us.  He adores us.  He loves us.

Jesus sees and knows us.  He walks with us.  He reclines at our table with us.  He provides comfort and rejoices with us.   He is there the entire time, ever present.  It is me that needs to notice His presence.  It is me that needs to look around and give thanks.  It is me that that needs to create space to develop my relationship with Jesus.  It is me that needs to adjust who I am seeking attention from and change my focus.  It is me that must be willing to show my hopes and hurts to the One who is standing beside me.  It is me that must humble myself and with great vulnerability reach out and touch the hem of his outer garment.  It is me that needs to boldly ask for healing.  It is me that must ask questions, seek answers, and express my confusion.  It is me that must direct my attention-seeking behaviors to the One who sees and knows me best.  It is me.  

Jesus has always been in the business of seeing and knowing.  It isn’t a thing of the past.  It wasn’t just for John, Peter, and their friends.  The seeing and knowing is meant for me too.  It is meant for you.

Shifting my perspective and focusing on an audience of One, I open my hands and offer all of me.  To be seen and known, it starts with me.