Knowing versus Feeling

Knowing versus Feeling  

It’s hard to imagine, but knowing and feeling are frequently synonymised. That is, it is believed that they are the same thing. Scholars have pointed out that this has always been the case, but it is just more common now. Why is that? Well, both are powerful and intertwined one with the other. There are times when knowing and feeling happen almost simultaneously and can seem to be one, but if we think about it, we know that isn’t true–we can feel it in our bones.

Knowing involves mental processes like perception, reasoning, and memory. It's about understanding the facts, concepts, and relationships between things. Feeling, on the other hand, is a subjective experience, an emotional response to a situation or stimulus. Knowing the difference between knowing and feeling is vitally important to how we feel about God.

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 8:38-39

When St. Paul wrote that the love of God was a fact–he was convinced. He was not talking about how he felt. It is indeed possible that he could have felt the love of God as well, but here he is simply stating that of which he is convinced: God loves us!

This is of paramount importance as a witness for daily living. There’s no Christian who doesn’t experience seasons when God feels distant or when we don’t feel his love. In those times, it is easy to fall away from God, disheartened or disillusioned. We all need love and to feel loved, but even when we can’t find love and don’t feel loved, we are still able to live and function because we know there is more to life than this.

St. Paul talks about knowing that God loves us and that truth opens a multitude of doors to a deeper relationship with God. The plan (or hope) when we don't feel love is to seek someone to be in a relationship with us. We know this will be work, and it may be frightening, but we also know this is the only way to be loved–to be in a deepening relationship with the other.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

God has repeatedly shown us that we are loved whether we feel it or not. Our hopes are that we will feel God’s love, but we are sustained by the fact. The answer to the question, “Why don’t I feel God’s love?” is the question (in the tradition of Jesus), “Are you actively building your relations with God?”
Take time today (every day) to contemplate the sacrifice of love God gave to you from the Cross. Think of the example of how much love must be present for Jesus to die for you—could you, would you do that for another? What kind of love is that!

Take time to talk to God, just talk. Share your day, your joys, sorrows, and fears. Then pray. Ask God for wisdom and companionship. Ask God to help you to see the little things in life as a gift and the challenges as opportunity. As you grow in your relationship, your knowledge of God’s plan will blossom, and you will better feel the love of God.

If you would like to know more on how to do this, please give me a call.

Knowing and loved by God,
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Fr. Bill+