Who knew what and when did they know it? This question, with all its subsets of questions, is often part of investigations into some kind of inappropriate conduct.
Did you know …? This kind of question is a lead in to both gossiping and instructing. It can also be about our spiritual growth.
We are in the Epiphany season of the Christian church calendar. Epiphany starts with the story of the Magi following a star to Bethlehem to find the infant Jesus. It always leaves me with many questions about who knew what when and how they knew it. Why could only the Magi see this star and act as they did? They knew something even the scholars in King Herod’s courts did not know. They knew their world would be changing in a good way.
We have several phrases that relate to knowing. Mindfulness, being “woke”, aware, and thankfulness are phrases that indicate we have a knowledge of something that influences our actions daily, hopefully in good ways.
For spiritual growth, we want to know about how we, as living beings, are connected to all life. We talk about God as the source, giver and sustainer of our lives and all life in general. If we are mindful we are conscious of this. It has an effect on everything we do. If we are “woke” we are aware of the way human society has treated others in ways that are hurtful. We need to keep this kind of knowledge constantly in our consciousness.
“Thank” and “think” come from the same root idea. We are thankful when we know someone thinks about us in a kind way.
Psalm 139:17-18 (NIV) – “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake I am still with you.” An alternative translation of verse 17 is “How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O God!”
Wow! Did you know that God is always thinking about you in a loving way? Being mindful of that is reason to be thankful daily.
