In my experience,
Friends often seem to use the phrase in a way that is rather
non-specific. Much like “that
of God in every one”, its meaning seems to be in the moment, in
whatever form is useful to the speaker. Usually, it seems to add a
sort of warm fuzz to the idea of getting to know one another, that it
means getting to know one another in a deep sense, rather than a
superficial one. You might know what someone does for living, but it
is knowing them in a deeper way to find out that they paint
landscapes, or write poetry. This is a reasonable distinction to
make, and the idea that we, as Friends, should know one another well
is a laudable one. Is this really “the things which are eternal”?
Certainly, there's a degree to which meanings change with time and
context, especially as society changes – or as our Religious
Society changes.
