This has become a common expression to explain experiences, photos, and videos. As people share their stories, they realize that not everyone will identify with the events or understand the humor. But, if you have experienced it too, you will immediately know the situation. On social media, the letters are simply IYKYK.

Some knowledge you only get through a shared experience.

This is true not only for the things we share online but also for the Bible. Some passages you will never understand until you have lived through something similar. Scholars and preachers can try to explain them, but only incidents will truly bring the concept to complete understanding.

For example, Psalm 51 is King David’s prayer after he has committed adultery and been called out by Nathan the prophet. It is the cry of a broken heart before God. While you can have a basic head knowledge of sin and shame to know what the passage means, it takes on a whole different level of meaning when you have made an enormous error in judgment and then have to confess it. The shame, heartbreak, emotional pain, and spiritual weight become tangible and identifiable.

This is just one example out of hundreds. The truth is that while the Bible needs to be read with the head. It is also understood with the heart. If you know, you know.