"FATHER,... this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." - John 17:3
These are very encouraging words. It would be really easy to think that the verse should read something like "FATHER,...this is eternal life, that they may live free of sin." It is easy to think that this is the real means of eternal life because this is what religion causes us to think. Religion can be a hopelessly impersonal, sterile, black and white, rigid, and a truly futile attempt to appear holy. There is authentic Christianity and there is a lifeless form of Christianity. The lifeless form of Christianity is the way of the flesh; we strive to be like Christ even if Christ is far from our hearts and minds so that we appear to be Christ like in a religious sense. Authentic Christianity is life-giving. It is the life of God within us. It is Christ in us. It is real.
It is often so hard to truly love God. It is so hard to obey God. It is so easy to stumble and fall, to lose our way. Our hearts are restless, and hungry. The world has so much to distract us from the hunger and the pain that comes from not truly giving our hearts to God. We try to feed the hunger with the things of this world but the things of this world are not eternal. The things of this world lead our hearts further and further from the heart of Jesus. The world is not bad. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to save the world. But the world cannot save. The world will not last. The world is not God.
It is so easy to be materialistic. Christmas is all-too-often about getting stuff. Work is all-too-often a means of obtaining stuff, rather than a vocation to be used by God to bless the world. School is a means to increase one's salary and status rather than a means to bless the world. Prestigious jobs and positions are often a means of getting what one wants rather than a means of blessing the world. The world we live in is not bad but it is backwards. To buy into the wisdom of the world is to buy into a way of thought and life which will lead us away from God simply because the best that the world has to offer is not God.
God has much to offer. We take for granted so much what God has to offer. If God gives a man a great mind it can be used to bring hope and light and life to those in darkness, who are hopeless and who are lifeless. If God gives a man good health it can be used to serve those who are truly in need. God's desire is that none of us should perish and suffer hell. God is merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love. All God has for us is His best. And so he came down from his throne in Heaven and became a baby. He was born in a barn where animals were kept. From throne room to barn, from his baptism until his death on a cross, He humbled Himself to love us, to serve us, and to save us.
Jesus prayed, "Father,... this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you sent." If Jesus prayed that we may know God, then we may know God. If Jesus prayed that we may know God then God eagerly awaits our knowledge of Him. He does not want us to merely know of Him. He wants to be more than a myth or a fable that teaches morals and gives us warm feelings. He wants to be more than cognitive awareness. He doesn't want to be known in the same way that one can know about something they read about in an encyclopedia. He does not want to be known in a distant, cold, factual manner, much like one can know about a great uncle or great grandfather. He is not a character in a book. He is the one true God and He wants us to know Him as a friend, as our Father, as our Savior, as our Counselor, as the Spirit of Truth, as Immanuel (God with Us), and as our God.
To know God means that we speak with Him and He with us. We can tell Him what is on our hearts and our minds. We can tell Him when we are joyful. We can tell Him when we are angry. We can tell Him when we are worried. We can tell Him we are sorry. And He has much to say to us when we are joyful, angry, worried, and sorry. Even when we feel indifferent, even cold toward Him, we can tell Him and He will listen, and He will care. What Father wouldn't try to do whatever is within His power to love His children and to provide for them?
To know God who loves us the way He loves us is not religion. It is relationship. It is real. To know God who loves us the way He loves us will affect our lives. It will sustain us in difficulties. It will draw us closer to Him because to know God in this way is to realize that we have nowhere else to go but toward Him. To know God is to understand that the world He made for us (and all that is within it) is good but it will not sustain us; it will not give us hope; it will not fill the emptiness; it will not save us; it will not last forever. To know God is to understand that no matter what we have done He still loves us and longs for us to love Him back. To know God is to know our greatest friend, our greatest hope, our greatest joy. To know God is to overcome. To know God is to live victoriously and powerfully as His beloved. To know God is to know His favor.
It sometimes seems so hard to get to know God. Church can be boring. Prayer can be difficult. Scripture reading can be tedious and even boring. Self-discipline is a major obstacle to knowing God. The pace of life can make it difficult to make time for God. Our affections for the things of this world and for sin can make it difficult to remember the One who died for us.
But do not forget the prayers of a righteous man who lived and died for us. He prayed that we would know the Father. He could have prayed that we would know eternal life through living perfect lives. But He knew that would be the way the world sees things; and that the world has it backwards. We cannot hope to live better lives apart from God. To overcome we must know the One who overcame. We must know God in order to perfect our lives. Just as Jesus asked His Father that we would know Him, we may ask that we can know God.
It may not be easy to get to know God but it is definitely worth the struggle. Never give up seeking God. No matter how many times we fall and fail, get right back up and try again. Anything that is worthwhile is worth struggling to obtain. I want to know God so much that He becomes my treasure. He is a great treasure. He is worth selling all I have in order to have Him.
Please consider praying with me: I want to know You. I want to see your face. I want to know you more. I want to touch you, I want to hear your voice. I want to know you more. Forgive my lack of faith. Give me faith. Forgive my lack of discipline. Give me discipline. Forgive my lack of love. Give me love. Forgive my selfishness. Give me a heart of compassion for others. Forgive my pride. Let me be humbled by your humility. Lord help me to stand and to not fade away.
To know God is to surrender all that we are and all that we have. This is the response to knowing God.
