Miraculous Mayhem

Secret Five: Knowing aka “Come… and Know Me Better Man”

Posted on March 8, 2016

If you have never experienced the masterpiece that is known as The Muppet Christmas Carol, then you may be wondering what in the world the above picture is and/or that it is the strangest model of Jesus you have ever seen (which it is not Jesus or even meant to be Jesus, so no worries here). Even if you have seen the movie, which just happens to be one of my all time favorites (light the candle not the rat; light the candle not the rat 😉 ), you are probably still a little confused as to why this picture was chosen for this blog and if I have potentially lost my mind just a little bit. Well have no fear, the answer to all shall be revealed and probably is a combination of some of all of the above.

During the past couple of weeks, while I was finishing reading Secret Five: Knowing and also recovering from a horrible flu virus that has been attacking our family for the last month (hence this post is quite late), I had some large amounts of time to reflect on this final chapter and its incredible gift of wisdom. And honestly, each time I would reflect, all I could see and hear (it might have been the cough syrup I am not going to lie) was the character portrayed above, also known as the muppet version of the Ghost of Christmas Present.

This second visitor to Scrooge, focused on the present Christmas moments, is by far my favorite.  For those of you unfamiliar with this movie, this Ghost of Christmas Present is a jolly, bright, welcoming muppet with kind eyes, a warm smile, and inviting voice. He introduces himself by welcoming Scrooge to a large feast, filled with all the amazing and delicious foods associated with Christmas, and encouraging him to “Come and know me better man!” His job in the movie is to open Scrooge’s eyes to what is happening in the present as a result of his “bah humbug” behaviors and impart the knowledge of what Christmas is really about. I cannot help it: every time I see and hear this character on the movie, I just want to hug him and join in on the festivities (especially the feasting) because his presence is so inviting. I honestly cannot even stop from smiling while writing this and thinking about it.

And while smiling and thinking and hearing the muppet’s voice, it struck me: Do I respond to Jesus the same way I do to this muppet character (a question I never dreamed I would ever ask 🙂 )?

For real though, do I see Jesus as warm, welcoming, loving, and jolly? Do I see Him as inviting me (and you) to partake in an amazing delicious feast and enjoy spending time together? Do I hear HIS VOICE saying “Come… and Know me Better man (Sara)!” Because if we look through the Scriptures, I am pretty sure all of the above (minus the muppet part) is true. Jesus came not only to give us life, but also to connect with us in the here and now (the present) and help us to get to know God in the flesh so that we can also know God in the spirit. And herein lies the fifth and final secret to living: getting to know God.

“Come… and Know Me Better Man!!”

This one-liner that has been haunting me for the past couples of weeks (I obviously need to watch the movie again 🙂 ) has truly been changing my perspective on getting to know God. When I started to examine the questions above as to my response to Jesus versus this fictional character, I realized that while I have always loved Go, it has been more from afar. I have never really viewed his invitation in such a welcoming, intimate, and inviting way. I have always seen it more as Him getting to know me (letting Him into my life, sharing my thoughts and dreams, looking to Him for my next steps and following His will) versus me getting to know Him (who He is, what He likes/dislikes, letting me into His life, getting to know His thoughts and dreams). He does not say, “Come and let me know you better”… He says “Come… and get to know me better!”

And yet, as Warren explains, this getting to know Him process is the whole foundation of everything when it comes to our life; both in terms of our original existence as well as our Christian living. Think about it: when we were first created, it was with the intent to know and learn (for example, experiencing and naming the animals) about our world with a rational mind created with logic and the ability to ponder and analyze. We were also created from the very beginning to exist in relationship, both with God and with each other. So, from day one, we were created to KNOW things and to KNOW God by getting to KNOW His creation as well as by being in relationship with and getting to KNOW Him. From day one, He was the first one to ever say “Come… and KNOW me better man!”

And since we did not seem to grasp this and instead turned against Him and looked for other avenues of knowing (like sin and fruit and Satan and death), He even sent Jesus in the flesh to pursue us and invite us yet again to come and know Him. And this time, Jesus goes one step further and in my mind, embodies the invitation of the present because he welcomes us as FRIENDS. Can you believe that? Sometimes, it is actually hard for me to believe, but I am glad that Jesus used this picture because it creates a sense of invitation and intimacy much like the one of the muppet that has been used throughout this post. If Jesus and I are friends, then we are going to hang out, we are going to eat yummy food together, we are going to do fun things together, and we are BOTH going to get to know each other (not just Him getting to know me or me getting to know Him).

How does this apply to me?

Friendship with Jesus and knowing God better both sound great to me (especially if there is hanging out, yummy food, and fun things involved) but again, what does this look like practically? Last time I checked, I have not actually met Jesus in the flesh per se, and as I am typing this, He is not visibly sitting on the couch beside me drinking a cup of tea or waiting to go get nachos (although that would seriously be awesome!!!). According to Warren (and sounding very similar to Gordon’s idea of spending time in the garden), we get to know God when we spend quality time with Him on a regular basis (yep, sounds like a friendship to me). Practically, he recommends:

• Knowing God Through Physical Presence (our bodies): I don’t know about you, but there is something about being in the same physical space as someone that helps the “getting to know you” process. When our bodies share space, we breathe the same air, experience similar weather and sensations, and take part in sub-concious interactions with non-verbal and chemical communication. This allows us to get to know each other on multiple levels, and this is why most of the deepest human relationships require some form of physical relationship (such as going out to coffee, hanging out for a game/movie night, getting nails done, etc.) to really grow. I know I see this in my deepest relationships; even though the majority of my “best” friends are far away, we take every opportunity we can get to spend time together as much as possible. It is not just about being in the same space that is important, but it is being willing to sacrifice and take the time and effort to be in the space that matters as well. When I get to see my friends that are out of town, I usually have to travel too… which requires moving my body and utilizing my body to honor our friendship. If I am willing to do so for my human relationships, it makes sense to me that this would be the case with our relationship with God too. If I really want to know God, and get to know Him in our friendship, then I need to be willing to physically spend time with Him as well as utilize my body and its abilities in support of our relationship. While this sounds weird to me as I am writing it, the example that keeps coming to mind is actually moving my body out of bed to do my quiet/prayer time in the morning. THIS IS THE TOUGHEST PART OF MY DAY!!! It is so hard for me to get out from under the covers while it is still dark and get to my prayer chair, but it is the giving of my body in this way that really helps me to know and grow in my relationship with the Lord. While I can (and do) still pray staying in my bed, I also have a tendency to fall back asleep and am less likely to get into the Word when this happens. My selfishness has decided that I win and my body works for me, instead of sacrificially using my body to support the relationship.
• Knowing God Through Mental Presence (our minds): In addition to being “with” someone in body and being physically present, I think it is just as important (if not more so) to also be willing to share our minds with someone and be mentally present as well. I cannot tell you how many time, especially as a mom, I have felt so bad because while I am physically present and trying to have coffee with a friend while my kids are running around, I can barely pay attention because…my kids are running around 🙂 It is very hard to truly get to know another person with distractions such as this, because even if I catch some of what is being said, I am not likely to retain any of it because he/she does not have my full attention. Once again, this hits me deep when I think about applying a similar principle to my relationship with God. So often, if I do make the time to be physically present (at church, in my quiet time, during small group), I am horribly distracted in my mind while I try to plan my grocery list, think about what needs to be accomplished tomorrow, or zone out because its the only time where no one is requiring my attention. And if I am distracted by these things when I am with God, just like being distracted with one of my friends, I am not likely going to be aware of what is really happening or going to retain any of the knowledge He is imparting because I am not really paying attention. My takeaway from this one: when I actually give my body to God and make it out of bed in the morning, I should probably check on my mind too and see if I can give Him my full attention as well. I might actually get to know Him a little better this way! 😉
• Knowing God Through Our Actions (our wills): If I am taking the time to be present, both physically and mentally with my friends, then it is very likely that I will get getting to know them and growing our friendship through our interactions. As this process takes place, I will get to know what they like and do not like, the things that make them smile, and the things that are most important to them. And if this is happening, then I will probably start to ACT on some of these things to be friendly and show them that I care. For instance, I found out years ago that my god-sister, whom I love dearly, loves caramel apples. They are one of her favorites and so anytime that we are together on vacation (our families vacation together on a bi-yearly basis), I do everything I can to find a caramel apple. Why? Because I want my WILL aka my actions to show her how much I care, that I know her, and I was thinking of her and loving her. Once again, when applied to my relationship with the Lord, this makes so much sense. If I want to get to know Him and grow our relationship, then I would look for similar opportunities to allow my actions to show Him that I know Him and care about Him. This might not involve a caramel apple, but instead might look like choosing to make financial decisions based on His principles of stewardship or sponsoring a child through a missions organization or even something like complementing a stranger on how I love her hair/nails/shirt. The point here is that I utilize my ACTIONs towards Him, just like I choose to do for my friends.
• Knowing God Through Transparency (our hearts): This is probably one of the hardest ones for me in friendships, mainly because it is difficult for me to be vulnerable at times (I am working on this one). However, this one to me is where we choose to intentionally share ourselves with each other, meaning our thoughts and feelings and the deepest parts of our hearts. This is where true friendships really shine, because as we hang out, get to know each other, grow our friendships by acting kindly toward one another, we build trust and share the not so pretties with each other. And if we can do this and still choose to stick with each other, it creates a bond that grows stronger over time and can provide much comfort, encouragement, and support as we go through this life. I am blessed to have several of these friendships, where I feel safe and secure enough to share my heart with my friend and know that she can do the same with me. As I am writing this, I am envisioning that God wants us to know Him in this way too. That we can go to Him with our truest self, share our hearts, and seek out opportunities to get to know His heart as well. However, there is a question that keeps coming to mind on this one for me: Do I make myself available for God to share His heart with me too?? If one of my friends needs to talk, I do my best to make time for it as soon as I can. Do I do this with the Lord as well? Something for me to be thinking on as we continue… maybe something for you to ponder as well.

Thus, as a re-cap, to practically get to know each other (as well as God), we can do so by being physically present, mentally present, using our actions to serve one another, and sharing our hearts with each other. Much like the way these  getting to know each other methods create a foundation for our human friendships that can then provide comfort, support, and enjoyment throughout life, the beauty of using these same principles in getting to know God is that it provides the foundation for everything else we have talked about with the other 4 secrets of living. Warren says it best:

“You can see how these four elements work together with the five secrets I have been sharing with you. The secret of living is fruitbearing, and the secret of fruitbearing is abiding. What is the secret of abiding? It is obeying: give God your will. What is the secret of obeying? It is loving: give God your heart. What is the secret of loving? It is knowing: give God your mind” (p.83).

So What do I do now?

There are so many directions we could go in for this last SMARTER not HARDER challenge for February’s book club, but I think I am leaning towards taking an inventory one more time. How well do you really know God? Would you consider Him a friend (all reverence still intended)?

If you have never seen the Muppet Christmas Carol (gasp), I actually encourage you to take the time to see it, especially the muppet I have mentioned so many times during this posting. What if you and I envisioned Jesus calling to us in this manner – inviting us as friends to dine at His table and get to know Him better?

If you are up for it (I know I am trying to be! ), I encourage you to say yes and try one or all of the four practical ways of getting to know Him better this week. For me, I started this morning, by seeking to know God with my physical and mental presence as I forced my self out of bed and into my prayer chair to give Him the first of my day in both body and mind. This has been the most difficult thing for me in the past few weeks, but after making it happen this morning, I can see such a huge difference in my attitude and demeanor when I start my day with Him. And honestly, my heart does truly desire to answer His call… and above all else… to come, and know Him better man♥