It’s odd that we long to be known, yet at the same time we have a fear of being known. I think we want to be known by our best self we present via social media and not all the parts that we try to repress and hide.

To be fully known is to be honest, transparent, and vulnerable. It means taking the risk of rejection, but the reward is the realization that you are not alone in your struggles and insecurities and addictions and flaws.

I think all of us have at one point thought something akin to “If you really knew me, deep down, with all that I’ve done, you’d walk right out of my life and never look back.”

I believe one of Satan’s greatest lies to keep us isolated and alone is “You’re the only one who struggles with _________. You are a freak and a pervert and a disgusting human being because of your sin or habit. You don’t deserve to be known.”

As I once read, demons die in the light. Lies die in the light that comes from accountability and disclosure within a small and trusted group of people who will encourage and challenge you.

No one ever finds healing in isolation. You need community to help you find your truest and best self. God never meant for there to be any Lone Ranger Christians. And even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.

As you know, fear stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. The reality is that everyone struggles and sins and falls headlong into temptation. Everyone has addictions and habits and sins that they’d prefer to keep hidden.

I always remember that God knows me more fully than I even know myself and still loves me unconditionally. He accepts me as I am but refuses to leave me that way. He calls us to love each other in the same way and to accept from each other nothing less than God’s very best.