||Rhema for the Week||
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.— Matthew 7:21 (NKJV)
Many people agree that the most important relationship in life is our relationship with Jesus, often summarized in the question, Do you know the Lord? Yet Scripture invites a deeper inquiry: Does the Lord know you?. This question carries eternal weight.
In Matthew 7:21–23, Jesus warns that some who used His name and operated in spiritual gifts will still hear, I never knew you.
This sobering truth calls us to examine our walk with God. From His words, we learn that Jesus desires a living, intimate relationship, one marked not by mere declarations but by obedience to the Father’s will (John 14:21). It is essential to recognize that while the gift of the Spirit is beneficial, it does not supersede the fruit and the Walk with the Spirit. You can operate in gifts and still lack a genuine relationship with God (Matthew 7:16-20). Jesus desires to work in us before He works through us.
What, then, does it mean to be known by the Lord? It begins in our secret place with Him. Jesus desires transparency, not the façade we present to others, but the real, unfiltered version of us. Though God is all-knowing, His omniscience does not substitute for invitation to dark areas of our lives. The secret place is no place for secrets. Jesus can handle the confessions of all our actual struggles, even the ones we hide and pretend do not exist.
When we hide our weaknesses, we not only deceive ourselves but also deny ourselves the healing and transformation that come from honest confession. The One who knows us most also loves us best. Judas walked closely with Jesus yet withheld his true struggles until it was too late, reminding us that proximity is not connectivity. God is not impressed by lip service (Ezekiel 33:31; Titus 1:16), but He is moved by surrendered hearts.
To be known by God is to love Him— But the one who loves God is known by God.
Further reading: Matthew 7:16–23; Acts 19:15–17; Gal 4:9; John 10:10; 14:21; Psalm 139:23–24; Proverbs 28:13; 1 Cor 8:3; 2 Cor 12:9; Ezekiel 33:31; Titus 1:16.
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