know others, know him.

c.s. lewis was part of a really tight group of friends of about four guys. when one of the four, charles williams, died, lewis thought that he would get more of ronald (j.r.r. tolkien) because he would not be sharing ronald with charles. but he found that when he died, he actually was getting less of him because lewis himself could not bring out the things in him that charles and his humor could. he suddenly realized that it took a group of friends to know ronald; one is not enough to call everything out. it takes different people. it takes a family to know an individual. but what about Jesus? lewis says that you cannot know Jesus by yourself. we need solidarity with people of different "races" and theologies in Christ--specifically, different denominations, but also all those immediately around us. we need each other. we need to know each other or we won't know him. (keller sermon)

i really like this, because i think it is something that is so opposite to my way of thinking. i so often think that my way is right, that it is better than all others, and that anything else cannot be right. in the past couple years, my way of thinking about God and theology has changed so much and i think that so much of the time i see this as a great thing. but while this is a good thing, i elevate myself and the doctrines and beliefs that i share with others around me above anything that i had previously thought or subscribed to.

while i am entitled to think that i may be more "right" about something than someone else, that doesn't make me any better than someone or necessarily give me a higher authority on a certain topic. i think lewis' experience excites me because it opens up Jesus. it crushes the boundaries that have been set by different subsections of the body of Christ; it takes away the tendency to distance ourselves from others who may not see things exactly the way we do. and just as importantly, if we are truly knowing and searching others around us, then we are guaranteed to know Jesus in a light we otherwise may not have seen. we are all made in God's image and given different qualities and strengths for a reason; this is what makes up the body. we must be willing to know each other so that we can know him more truly.