DO YOU KNOW ME?

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3).

Many of us believe God is real. Some believe He's only watching from a distance, with very little interest in what's happening down here. But actually, God is very interested and is seeking to have the most intimate relationship with you. The whole Christian life centers around that relationship. But what kind is it? 

We enjoy many relationships in our lives--with our husband, our wife, our friends, our parents, even our pets. But not all of them are on the same level. And none of them are what you would call a saving relationship, which is what the Father wants to have with you. What sets this relationship apart from all the others?

Jesus said, "this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" (John 17:3).  Eternity depends on knowing God, knowing Him personally, and for who He really is. But how can we know Someone that we can't see face to face? 

Most relationships out there are built on 2 important pillars--communication and time. Because relationships boil down to spending quality time together. It takes time to get to know another person, to know what they're really like--not merely what they project on the outside but what they're like deep down inside. What are their thoughts, their dreams, and their fears? In talking and doing things together, we discover who they are, bit by bit. 

But spending time together also means they become part of our life and we become part of theirs. We share more than just time and conversation. We share a life together. And that's what intimacy is all about--when we feel so safe with another person that we can be transparent with them. We don't put up any fake fronts, like we do with a stranger. We can be ourselves.  And we end up opening doors to the private side of our life that very few have entrance to. Now if you're very blessed, you may have a friend like that. And if you do, you have an inside edge in understanding the intimate relationship Jesus wants to have with you. 

Spending time with Jesus every day builds that kind of transparency. When we open up our Bible, Jesus shares His heart with us. And when we pray, we share our heart with Him. A daily Quiet Time with Jesus, as I like to call it, combines time and communication. And this consistency in connecting with Christ is the bedrock of our relationship with Him! Without prayer and Bible Study, there's no spiritual life. We may feel we love Jesus. We may be drawn to Him. But without a daily encounter with God, we can't be a Christian. We can't know God. It's just impossible. That's why the devotional life is crucial in following Jesus and the Living Way. 

But merely putting in the time isn't a foolproof way to build intimacy. It also depends on how we respond to the Word of God. Do we receive it as the Thessalonians did? Paul says, when they heard God's Word, they received it and "welcomed it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth [as it really is], the word of God [the word of the Living God] which also effectively works in you who believe" (1 Thessalonians 2:13, words in brackets added for emphasis). 

"Just to the degree in which the word of God is received and obeyed will it impress with its potency [its strength and power] and touch with its life every spring of action, every phase of character" (Ministry of Healing, pg. 136). Because to know Jesus in a saving way or to have a saving relationship with Him is to be "vitalized by spiritual knowledge, to practice its words. Without this, all else is valueless" (Signs of the Times, 1/27/98). 

That's why Jesus says, "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). For when we know the Lord, our lives testify to the presence of Jesus in our life. People will see that we have been with Him. We're no longer the same selfish or worldly person that we used to be because "to know Jesus requires a change of heart. No unconverted person, in his natural state of depravity, loves Christ. A love of Jesus is the first result of conversion" (Daughters of God, pg. 240). 

But what kind of love will that be? What will it look like?  It's possible to say 'I love Jesus' and shout at my kids day after day. It's possible to say those words, to profess a relationship with Christ, and yet deny Him by the way I live.  So my love must be more than just a profession of Christ, it must go beyond saying 'I love Jesus' or 'I'm a Christian.' The love that reveals a saving relationship is a love that's seen through obedience. We love Jesus enough to call Him Lord. And that means I'm not calling the shots, I'm not doing what I want. I'm following every word that God says, and walking as He walked. 

For Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). True love for God is seen in true faithfulness to His perfect will. It's seen in a transformed life that's captivated and captive to the Word of God. "Now by this we know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. He who says 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in Him" (1 John 2:3,4). But, on the other hand, "whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him" (ibid). You see, obedience, loyalty and faihfulness are all the same thing and they're the litmus test when we examine our hearts to know if we truly know the Lord. This is how I can tell whether I've got a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's not just about feeling. When I first fell in love with my husband, that's all we had. Strong feelings for one another. We didn't know Jesus when we first met so our relationship was pure emotion.   Fortunately, it didn't stay that way. And the only reason it changed was because we accepted Jesus into our lives. Now, feelings play an important part in a relationship, but it can't last if that's all there is. And sometimes, that's what happens in a relationship with Jesus. Some people rely so completely on feeling that they never learn what it means to be His disciple. And Jesus says, "Whoever of you does not forsake all  that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33). Our relationship has to move beyond feeling to get to living faith.

And faith is not feeling. It's not just believing a list of facts about Christ. It's a gift of God that reaches inside and changes our heart. Without saving faith there's no saving relationship. There's only a lifeless form of godliness. And that kind of relationship is self-centered. It still takes pleasure in worldly entertainment. It's satisfied with hearing about Jesus or thinking about Jesus, but it knows nothing of His saving power. 

"Those who possess this religion regard sin so lightly because they do not know Jesus" (Messages to Young People, pg. 106). When we know Christ as He really is, we'll be radically different. We'll reflect the love and holiness of our Savior because He is in us and we are in Him. We've let Him in the front door of our heart and He's now our welcome Guest. His Word is treasured in our life; it's our lifeline to heaven. And everything that Jesus asks or even commands is no longer a burden, but our greatest delight! Because His love consumes us and transforms us! And it's so evident to everyone who knows us. They can see the fruit of our saving relationship with Jesus. The same love of Christ is there, the character of God is glowing, and there's peace where there used to be only distress or despair. There's victory where there used to be sin and rebellion. 

To know Jesus is to be like Jesus. To know Him is to reveal His character to the world. So do you know Christ or do you only know about Him? It all depends on how you receive His Word. Do you live by what He says? Are His words changing your life at home? Does your family see more kindness and patience in you? Do you show true humility or do you pursue your own agenda in your own way? Can others see the love of Jesus in how you treat others, even those who disagree with you?  "Love to Christ cannot exist without corresponding love to those whom He came into the world to redeem. Love to Christ must be the principle of our being, controlling all the emotions and directing all the energies" (Testimonies to the Church, vol 3., pg. 396). 

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:8). So let us love to spend time with Jesus every single day. Let us receive His Word into our hearts and live by them. Let us obey all His commandments because we love Him. Let us shine with the same self-sacrificing love that He showed on this earth. Love for God, love for our families, love for those who don't love us, and for those who don't know God. These are the fruits of a saving relationship with Jesus. They're also the terms by which we can know if we truly know Him. 

Take time to measure your life with the character of God. And seek a saving relationship with Jesus every single day until He comes. For this is what eternal life is all about!