It's Who You Know

And Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life; that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”  (John 17:3)

Jesus was praying to His Father for Himself when He spoke these words. These words sum up the totality of the meaning of the gospel. 

May I paraphrase? 

Now this IS my eternal life…  

It is present tense, not along with any other prerequisite. It is that I know the Father, not know about Him, but know Him. In the original text, “to know" means to be “intimate with.” This goes far beyond having an acquaintance or a basic knowledge of.

…and Jesus Christ whom you have sent, so I may know both the Father and the Son, for to know one is to know the other.

The question is: do I want eternal life? If the answer is yes, then I have already been invited to look into pursuing an intimate relationship with my heavenly Father. 

It’s all about who I know, not about what I do! 

3/14/2016