Recently at church, a familiar-looking woman approached me after Bible study. She asked about volunteer opportunities at the ministry where I work. As an usher, she was aware of the excited response the ministry residents gave me when I entered Saturday night church. She was curious why I thought they responded that way. I expressed how I believed it was excitement born from their deep desire to be known. In this huge church holding close to one thousand people per service, the residents could identify someone they personally knew.
Despite my fatigue coming almost straight from work, I enjoyed being greeted like a celebrity. Some of them even yelled my name halfway across the room. As a rather shy person, this produced a slight blush. Nevertheless, it let me know that, I too, am known.
We all need to feel welcomed and accepted, even when known for our faults as well as our better features. It’s natural to gravitate in large groups to familiar faces where we’re safe, or at least comfortable. This doesn’t mean that we can’t reach out to extend our list of acquaintances and make others feel welcome, too.
Sometimes, I try to imagine what it will be like the first moment I step into Heaven. Who will be the first person I see: my husband, mom, a long-gone friend or even a Biblical character? Could it be that Jesus Himself will welcome me home, call me by name, hug me, tell me He loves me and is so glad to see me? Wow, to be known by Him like that is an experience not to be surpassed! He already knows me at a deeper level than anyone else.
I may not know Him at first, but He’ll have no trouble recognizing me in the biggest crowd. Like Mary Magdalene who mistook Him for the gardener after his rising, He’ll only need to say my name, and I’ll run to Him with arms wide open.
Dianna
Sharing the Fruit of Maturity
