To Know And Be Known

1. The Restless Spring

Bless Thou the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts that they may be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but lately everyone I meet seems to be running on empty.

Some say, “It’s the busiest season of my life.” Others nod in exhausted agreement. And truthfully, I’ve felt it too—this spring rush, this quickening tempo that seems to have seized our calendars and our hearts.

Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s the economy. Maybe it’s the way the world spins now—faster every year.

Whatever the reason, we fall into bed at night worn out, our minds still running even as our bodies shut down. The sap’s running faster, the grass is greener, and everything—including us—is sprinting to keep up.

And yet, I fear that what’s true of our schedules can quietly become true of our souls. We treat even faith as another obligation to be managed. One more thing on the to-do list. One more meeting, one more reading plan, one more spiritual habit to “keep up.”

And so the very thing that was meant to give rest begins to feel like another race.

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2. When Faith Feels Like a Job

I pray you don’t experience your Christian life the same way you experience your daily grind—another box to check, another weight to carry.

Because, dear friends, when religion starts to feel like work, we’ve likely lost sight of the One whose work finished it all.

Unfortunately, many of us have been taught, subtly or directly, that following Jesus is mainly about what we must do—how often we read, how faithfully we attend, how much we give, how strongly we believe.

Preachers—yes, including people like me—sometimes pile on expectations until grace feels like another performance review.

We say things like,

“You should pray more.”

“You should witness more.”

“You should care more.”

All good things. But if you notice, every sentence starts with you.

The danger is that the gospel, which begins with God, becomes a story about us.

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3. The Gospel We Lose

Whenever salvation is linked to our activity instead of God’s, we lose the gospel.

Whenever the story of grace becomes a manual of self-improvement, we’ve traded good news for good advice.

Now don’t misunderstand me: there’s merit in caring, giving, serving.

But the engine that powers those things must be God’s love, not guilt or fear.

I’ve seen it on both sides of the church aisle.

In the so-called liberal churches, people are told, “A real Christian must care for refugees, protect creation, feed the hungry, fight for justice.”

Those are holy callings. But sometimes the emphasis tilts so hard toward what we do for the world that we forget what God does for us.

Then, in the so-called conservative churches, the list sounds different but feels the same:

“Tithe faithfully. Attend every prayer meeting. Read your Bible daily. Join every ministry team.”

All noble goals. Yet even there, the suggestion can creep in that unless we check every box, God’s arms stay folded.

Either way, grace gets lost.

And when grace is lost, joy is lost.

And when joy is lost, the church becomes tired, judgmental, or both.

Friends, the gospel is not the story of how we climbed up to God.

It’s the story of how God came down to us.

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4. The Trial of Peter and John

That truth rings through the Book of Acts.

Peter and John heal a crippled man outside the temple. They aren’t running a program; they’re simply moved by compassion and empowered by the Spirit. But when the miracle draws a crowd, the religious authorities arrest them.

The next morning, the rulers demand an explanation:

“By what power or what name did you do this?”

Peter answers with holy boldness:

“It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Notice what he doesn’t say.

He doesn’t say, “By our fasting and prayer we healed this man.”

He doesn’t say, “By our superior faith or doctrine.”

He says, “By the name of Jesus.”

That’s the heartbeat of the gospel: God acts first.

Everything good that flows from us flows from Him.

Peter had learned the hard way. He’d promised loyalty, then denied his Lord. But Jesus didn’t disown him; He restored him. Peter knew the relief of being known by God even when he didn’t know himself.

That’s the kind of knowing that saves.

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5. The Fox and the Tiger

There’s an old Chinese proverb that illustrates this beautifully.

A fox once got caught by a tiger. Facing certain death, the fox declared,