MD MEN’S MINISTRY
“BROTHERS IN CHRIST BEARING BURDENS TOGETHER.”
“To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything. It liberates us from pretense, humbles us out of our self-righteousness, and fortifies us for any difficulty life can throw at us.”
ABOUT MD MEN’S MINISTRY
The MD Men’s ministry is a place for men to be radically open and vulnerable as they seek to believe together that because we are fully known and fully loved in Christ, we are safe to fully know and fully love each other as we bear one another’s burdens in our efforts to walk together in Christlikeness.
FULLY KNOWN.
Being known by God goes beyond just knowing about us. His knowing doesn’t come from watching and learning about us, it comes from designing us.
Psalm 139:1-24 reveals many of the ways that we are known by God. Here are some of those ways:
He knows your every movement, like when you rise and when you sit (verse 2).
He knows everywhere you go (verse 3).
He knows what you are going to say before you even say it (verse 4).
He knows everything about us (verse 1).
He knows how you were formed in your mother’s womb (verse 13).
He knows how marvelously complex you are (verse 14).
He knows every day of your lives, past and present (verse 16).
He knows your hearts desires (verse 1).
(See also: John 10:27, 1 Corinthians 8:3, 1 John 3:20, Matthew 10:29-31)
God knows you from beginning to end. He knows everything you have done and will do. He knows you because He designed you.
““Before we were formed in the womb, God knew us. We are known before we know. This realization has a practical result: no longer do we run here and there, panicked and anxious, searching for the answers to life. Rather, we come to God, who knows us and reveals to us the truth of our lives. The fundamental mistake is to begin with ourselves and not God. God is the center from which all life develops.””
NOTHING IS HIDDEN FROM GOD
Nothing is hidden from God; he sees and knows it all (Hebrews 4:13). He knows our favorite song and place we like to eat. He knows our greatest joys and triumphs. He knows our greatest needs, our greatest fears, our greatest failures, and our greatest sins. He knows every tear we ever cried alone. He knows the outcome of our health appointments and every time we lose a loved one. He knows our struggles, heartaches and deepest moments of despair.
He knows the good, the bad and the ugly. Yet there is absolutely nothing you have done or will do that changes the way He feels towards you. This is the beauty of being fully known by God. He fully knows you and still chose to fully forgive you.
Romans 5:8, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
FULLY LOVED.
Being fully known is one of our deepest desires, but also one of our greatest fears.
Being fully known by someone is always a risk. The depth of our relationships are only as deep as our trust for someone. We don’t share the deepest parts of our hearts with people we don’t trust.
But there is no risk in being fully known by God, because we are also fully loved by Him.
With God, to be known, is to be loved. To be loved, is to be known.
God enjoys relationship with you.
Zephaniah 3:17, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
When we understand that we are fully known and truly loved by God, it allows us to come with confidence before His throne (Hebrews 4:16). Not because of anything we have done, but because of the glorious grace he has toward us.
If we are overwhelmed by the shame of our sin, we won’t repent and rest in the forgiveness that Jesus has given us. There is nothing that can separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39).
What if we saw the deepest, darkest sin in our lives as an opportunity for God’s glorious and powerful mercy and grace to be displayed? How glorious is His love for us!
Jesus fully knew what He was getting into. He loved us from before the foundation of the world! (Ephesians 1:3-6)
BEARING ONE ANOTHER’S BURDENS
Galatians 6:1-3 tells us, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
So, comforted by the gospel and called by Christ, we link arms to live out Christian brotherhood in the likeness of Romans chapter 12, seeking day-by-day to walk in the light, trusting that if we are fully known and fully loved by God in Christ Jesus, we can risk being known and loved by God’s people, even in our weakness, failure, and sin.