The essence of intimacy is to know that we are known.  Jesus had just answered the questions the disciples had been discussing among themselves but had not asked Him (Luke 5:22).  When they realised that He knew their private conversation, their thoughts, doubts, questions and fears, they wondered - who else could have known other than God?  The miracles had not fully convinced them, nor had the wisdom of His teaching; but when He revealed their own deep internal thoughts, they knew that He understood them in an intimate way.

Intimacy is not essentially about appreciating what people do, knowing their likes and dislikes, or knowing how to get what we want out of them: it is about believing who they are.  Jesus did not come to be popular but to be trusted at a deep personal level.  In His final hours before the cross, the disciples were starting to see His divine nature – because they began to understand that He knew them personally on the inside.

King David had written that such intimate knowledge was in the character of God.  In Psalm 139:1-24 David feels totally engulfed by being known by God.  Now, Jesus’ trainee apostles were starting to understand that their Master, Teacher, Miracle-worker was more than the sum of His activities.  He was God-sent, but more than that, He was God in a human body.  John was later to summarise this in John 1:14.    

The pressure of life in most cities demands that we are maximally productive.  Often, we are only known by what we do.  However, God’s knowledge of us is radically different.  Of course, He knows what we do; but more importantly He knows why we do it and who we really are.  He even knows us better than we understand ourselves.  So why do we not trust Him more?  Have we forgotten that He knows us far better than any human being?  He sees both our past and our future; He understands all our deep desires (both good and bad); He knows all the questions we ask and all those we do not dare to ask – and despite all that, He goes on loving us.  If all that is true and it is - trust Him today.  Trust Him to forgive your sins, to give you strength, to give you wisdom, to guide your decisions, to help you to serve Him better and to love Him more.