DAY 89 of #100daysofJesus - Knowing Jesus Is Life Eternal

 DAY 89 of #100daysofJesus

In Jesus' great Intercessory Prayer, which was offered just before His visit to the Mount of Olives leading up to his arrest and crucifixion, He prays:

"Thou hast given [thy Son] power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

I interpret this as meaning that to some degree salvation or eternal life is dependent on us coming to know God and Jesus.

I was curious about the word "know" because there are so many different meanings for this word in the scriptures.

I found that in John 17:3 the word "know" comes from the Greek ginosko, which is "to know by experience" and not the Greek oida, which is "to know by observation or awareness".

So knowing about God and Jesus, even believing in them, will never be enough to attain to eternal life. Experiencing God is required.

We come to know Jesus over time as we experience His goodness, grace, and mercy. As we come to know Jesus, we come to know our Heavenly Father as well.

To some degree, this is the reason for our trials, imperfections, and natural carnality, things that cannot be overcome on our own. We are inherently required to rely on the grace of Jesus Christ to achieve our potential.

Such reliance on Jesus helps us to come to know Him. We learn through our own repentance and growth that Jesus WANTS to forgive and help us. We learn that He is CAPABLE of forgiving and helping us. It truly is His great pleasure to do so, and it's the purpose for which He came into the world.

Jesus helps bring peace into our lives, a much needed peace in a turbulent world. We know where to turn when we need help and peace, and this pattern helps us come to know Jesus as a friend and mentor as well as our Savior.

We all have challenges and trials. It's my hope and prayer that we will allow them to lead us to Jesus, to partake of His grace, build a relationship with Him, and come to know Him. This is eternal life.

(John 17:2-3)