You’re loved, sure — but it doesn’t feel real because nobody actually knows the real you.
We live in a world of Instagram highlights and success stories.
We’ve mastered being admired from a distance while our souls starve for genuine connection.
But the reality is this: You can’t be deeply loved if you refuse to be fully known.
There’s a story in the Bible from Mark 2 about a paralysed man whose friends took him to see Jesus.
When crowds blocked their way, they climbed on to the roof and tore through it to get him to Jesus.
They destroyed property to help their friend. When’s the last time you had friends willing to be that inconvenienced for you?
But here’s what gets me — when Jesus saw this paralysed man, he didn’t immediately heal his legs. He said, “Your sins are forgiven.”
Seems like a weird response, right?
Guy can’t walk, and Jesus talks about forgiveness.
But what if Jesus knew something we miss? What if the thing that truly paralyses us isn’t always physical — it’s emotional.
What’s the thing in your life that holds you back?
That shame, failure, or secret that makes you feel completely exposed?
Most of us carry something. And when we do, we build walls to protect ourselves. We become the funny one so no-one digs deeper. We stay busy so there’s no time for real conversations. We get defensive to keep people at arm’s length.
It’s like we’re creating our own emotional prison.
Those same walls that keep pain out are the ones keeping love out, too.
Jesus understood this. When he offered forgiveness, he was essentially saying, “The thing that’s imprisoning your heart? It’s gone. You’re free.”
Your wounds create reactions.
Maybe the tension in your relationships has less to do with what others are doing and more to do with the defence mechanisms you’ve built to avoid being truly seen.
The beautiful thing about that paralysed man’s story? It ends with Jesus saying, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home.”
Your external problems get solved by addressing your internal ones.
So here’s my challenge: Who in your life knows what really paralyses you? Who knows what you’re actually carrying?
Maybe today is the day you stop pretending you’re okay. Stop smiling your way through pain. Stop living admired but unknown.
Because being admired from a distance will never fill the aching in your soul that was meant to be filled by being fully known and unconditionally loved.
We weren’t made for safety. We were made for connection.
Deep, honest, brave connection. What if the only thing standing between you and freedom was your fear of being found out?
Rob Wiltshire
Epicentre Church
