Being known matters. Beyond casual friendships, we desire care, recognition, and respect. Consider what the Bible says about being known in 2 Corinthians 5:1-11.
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed,
but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.”
Grandma Moses: Farm Wife–Master Painter
“Grandma Moses” was Anna’s nickname. Her family and friends knew her. She also knew the hardships and loneliness of farm life. The brightness of birthing ten children in her home promised life, but five of her children left her before becoming toddlers.
Grandma Moses didn’t walk away when times were tough however. As a farm wife she chose to remain at home instead. Refusing to sit around, she courageously entertained her friends at home through her artwork depicting life on the farm. She didn’t know that her paintings would become famous.
Turns out she became very well known. Known in Christ, she lived to please God who already knew her.
Since God knows me and my needs, I can please him.
That means:
- I can take courage
- I can walk by faith
- I can fear God
How can I Always be of Good Courage?
We can always live courageously while at home in our bodies because when we are away from our bodies, we’ll be at home with God. Verse six says “we are always of good courage” but why is that? Because God has already prepared our homecoming and guaranteed it by the Spirit in verse five. So we can ALWAYS be of good courage. We won’t fail to make it home.
“He who has prepared us for this very thing
is God, who has given us the Spirit
as a guarantee.”
2 Corinthians 5:5
“So we are always of good courage.
We know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,”
2 Corinthians 5:6
God has prepared a better place for us after death. God has guaranteed our transition from death to life by giving us the Spirit. And that produces courage. We can always take courage because God has prepared a better place for us. He guaranteed it by the Spirit.
Earth Movers
On July 28th, 1952 a converted ship carrying $500,000 of earth moving equipment sent by R.G. LeTourneau and his wife Evelyn sailed to Liberia, Africa with 500 New Testaments and 12 technical missionaries. R.G. would fly away to Liberia to meet the plane personally. Two decades earlier the LeTourneaus courageously decided to give away 90% of their extremely successful earth moving business, including company stock, to the Lord’s work around the world. They had both used their entrepreneurial skills to build this company from one used tractor.
But, they didn’t know if others would be persuaded through the gospel. Would the infrastructure they built endure?
They built places that guaranteed food and jobs to Liberian citizens. Combining evangelism and business took loads of courage, but they followed God who prepared and guaranteed a better place for them.
Far from Home–Not Coming Back
We can take courage during transitions that cause us to move far away from home. Even when loved ones are far away and won’t return.
Different cultures approach death in different ways. Some view it as a final resting place. Others see it as a transition to an eternal destination. While still others see it as a journey where families revisit their loved ones passing as an anniversary.
The chasm of having loved ones at home with us or away from us produces strong feelings. The loss of their presence at home can be overwhelming, even unbearable at times.
How do we process this? What can comfort the painful sting of death? What can bridge that separation? Christians can grieve courageously because we have hope. God has promised a better place and guaranteed the transition.
Christians don’t revisit death each year searching for hope of an afterlife. We already have it … but not because we earned it, found it or deserve it. Jesus has already defeated death and sent the Spirit to guarantee eternal life. That makes us courageous during times of great loss. We can be there for those who don’t know the Lord and even share our perspective on death, courageously.
Faith Walk
We know Christians can always take courage because of what God has prepared and guaranteed. But how does that actually work? This is where faith comes in. We walk by faith and not by sight. That means we are sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see walking through life and death with the Lord.
We see this in verse seven.
“for we walk by faith, not by sight”
We walk with our eyes on the unseen God who guides our very steps as we trust him. We’re courageously stepping into what he has prepared and guaranteed for us. The things that we can see will eventually disappoint us, but walking by faith in God’s work never will. This is especially so when that walk is hard.
Cake Walk?
Jack and Melissa Phillips owners of Masterpiece Cakeshop in Lakewood, Colorado couldn’t see how making a wedding cake for a homosexual couple aligned with their Christian faith so they walked away from potential new business trusting God. After a lawsuit, they lost about 40% of their business. They had to stop making wedding cakes. Their case went all the way to the U.S. supreme court. They suffered threats and fines all while trying to walk out their faith, despite death threats.
Looks like Less
Imagine if Jack and Melissa were walking by what they saw? Their circumstances were extremely discouraging and their future was in question.
Depression causes Christians to feel like we have less to look forward to in the future. Depression can happen when we compare what we see others doing or getting that never seems to happen for us. Asaph may have experienced a bit of this in Psalm 73. He wrote:
“For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.
They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.”
That can absolutely hold true today. The Psalmist seemed overwhelmingly wearied until he went into the sanctuary of God and discerned their end.
Grandma Moses encourages us to “Never lose faith in what is ahead of you.” The Lord is ahead of us so we can keep walking by faith and not by sight.
Fear God
Since God knows me and my needs, I can fear him. To know God is to fear him. That means doing what he wants, because he knows us. Verse 11 starts off with:
“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.
We also see that God wants us to persuade others in the middle of verse 11.
The gospel does this because the Lord in this verse is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ. We submit to his desire to persuade others to know him through sharing the gospel because he knows us. He knew you in your mother’s womb.
If we think that what we do makes us known to God, we’ve got the order all wrong. In that case it’s easy to either beat yourself up over not sharing the gospel or get a bit prideful when you do. Persuading others comes from the truth that he knows us. And because of that, you want to make him known.
Known and Heard
Consider the humanity of Jesus for a moment. Jesus prayed and petitioned God with cries and tears during stressful times because he knew God was the only one who could save him from death. Jesus died on the cross and rose on the third day to make God’s will known. That none should perish but all should come to repentance.
God the Father obviously knows Jesus Christ the Son of God perfectly, as well as the Spirit of God, because the trinity is without beginning or end.
Jesus was heard because he submitted to God’s will. He demonstrated reverence for God by doing what God wanted him to.
Since God knows me, I can take courage as I walk by faith desiring to please and fear God.
You’ll recall we started out talking about a woman named Anna or “Grandma Moses” who feared God.
How Did Grandma Moses Become so Well Known?
If you were wondering how “Grandma Moses” became so well known, achieving international acclaim, it all started on vacation.
Art dealer Louis Caldore was on vacation in Hoosick Falls, New York and saw Anna’s art in a local shop. He quickly purchased every piece and entered Anna into the Contemporary Unknown Artists show at New York’s Modern Museum of Art. “Grandma Moses,” won multiple awards, and sold many paintings, but none of those things defined her.
Neither did any of her roles as mother, wife, widow, farm hand and now internationally renowned artist.
You can be comfortable in many roles when you’re known by God,
Anna walked by faith when at 76 she could no longer knit things for others due to arthritis in her hands. She had no idea what was ahead when she picked up a paintbrush.
Your gifts can be used in multiple ways and in different contexts, when you are known by God
Can you trust God to reinvent how he wants you to make him known? Even after a particular role in life has ended? Will you fear him, surrendering your steps to please the one who knows you best?
We can because we are known by God.
The Best Promise that Speaks to You