The Person You Should Know

There are over 7 billion people on the face of the earth; as reported by Google, an average person will meet an estimated 10,000 people in their lifetime. This implies that it is impossible to know everyone and/or have a relationship with everyone.
As we may all know—knowing people is quite different from having a relationship with them. A relationship must involve at least two interested people. There are a few exceptions, one of such is opposite sex relationship, where one person is often more interested in the other.
For a better insight, let’s use an analogy of two men interested in the same lady. Josh and John are interested in Jane; Jane was an acquaintance with both of them. These men believed that their feeling towards Jane was genuine. Josh overcame his fear of rejection and asked Jane out on a date. During their date, Josh made his intention known to Jane; he desired to advance their relationship beyond acquaintance. She was surprised and insisted on thinking about it. Eventually, she accepted Josh’s proposal. Meanwhile, John remained captive of his fear of rejection and said nothing to Jane.
The action taken by these men connotes a difference. Josh did not only want to know Jane, he wanted a relationship with Jane, whereas John only wanted to know Jane. The kind of relationship that Josh sought can be classified as beyond knowing. Intimate relationship (e.g. Spouse, lover, best friend) is what I call beyond knowing relationship, while having a knowledge of a person’s existence is what I call knowing relationship. John will always know Jane, but might never have a beyond knowing relationship with Jane. Why? This is because as long as Jane stays with Josh, the relationship between John and Jane will always be a knowing relationship.
In our lifetime, there are people that we will just know, and those we will have beyond knowing relationship with. A relationship between close friends is beyond knowing, while a relationship between acquaintances is a knowing relationship. Generally, it is impossible to have a beyond knowing relationship with a person and not have a knowing relationship with them. But it is quite possible to know a person and not have a beyond knowing relationship with them. In the previous analogy, Josh and John knew Jane, but it was only Josh who advanced to beyond knowing relationship with Jane.
There are certain people we know about, but we have no genuine beyond knowing relationship with them, such may include head of state, presidents, government officials, actors/actresses, celebrities, and religious leaders. In fact, most countries of the world make knowing certain people in government as part of the school curriculum.
The point is, relationships, either knowing or beyond knowing, are very important for a person’s existence. We all yearn to cultivate relationships, this is who we are.
To progress in life, we need relationships. We were born into a family, have friends, and acquaintances so that we can have all kinds of necessary relationships. Wherever and whoever we are, we all need relationships for a good life.
Do you know there is an amazing person with some amazing qualities and benefits? This person can give you an amazing life here on earth and beyond. A relationship with this person will change you from just getting by in life (surviving) to living life the way it was designed to be.
Many cannot differentiate between surviving and living life. A surviving life is the life of a person who jumps from one issue/problem to another, there is no real rest in their life, always worrying and anxious, toiling over everything. A living life is the life of a person who knows the right thing to do at the right time, because of their relationship with the one who authored and designed life.
From this explanation, most of us will desire a living life and not a surviving life. This would entail a beyond knowing relationship with the person who designed life. This is the right way to have the life that we all desire.
Relationships will always influence our stance toward issues. Our decisions, actions, reactions, and experiences in life evolves around the kind of relationships we have.
It is important to note that there will be challenges and difficulties in every season of life; however, the challenges are not the main reason for life, there is more to life than challenges. We live in a broken world; hence pain and suffering will continually abound. When pain and suffering sets in, the person who designed life knows how to get you through successfully. The type of relationship introduced in this book is needed and it will influence how we deal with challenges.