THAT I MAY KNOW
John 17:3-4 NKJV
3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
This chapter records the prayer of Jesus before His arrest in the garden and before the cross. This is the prayer Jesus prayed with all His disciples around Him. In the garden before He was arrested, Jesus was praying and asking God if there was any way He did not have to go through the cross. But then He followed it up with declaring that He wanted the will of God. Not as I will, but as You will was Jesus’ prayer in the garden. John doesn’t cover Jesus in the garden as the other gospel writers did. But John does cover this prayer.
In this prayer of Jesus, He prays about the relationship between Himself and the Father. He also prays about His relationship after the resurrection with all those who would come to believe in Him. This is an amazing prayer, and some of the statements Jesus makes are so astounding that if He didn’t say it, I would not accept it. For example, Jesus declares that the glory God gave Him, He has given to us. And that God loves us as much as He loves Jesus. I did not make that statement. Jesus did in verses twenty through twenty-three. Verse twenty assures us that these statements belong to us, not just the disciples. Amazing!
In our verses for today, Jesus gives us the definition of eternal life. That we might know the Father God and Jesus, who was sent by God. The joy of a relationship is fellowship. I have been married to Joy for almost forty-four years, and it’s the fellowship, the sharing together, that makes the marriage relationship work. By the same token, being a Christian is so much more than adhering to a set of rules. Christianity is about having a relationship and fellowship with a living, loving God and His Son, Jesus. How great is that?
Just think, if you were given the opportunity to have a relationship with anyone in the world, who would you choose? A famous musician, an athlete, an investor like Warren Buffett. Mr. Buffett, considered one of the world’s top investors, used to auction off a lunch on eBay. The winning bid often ran into multiple millions of dollars. But what if you could meet with anyone, no matter how important, rich, or famous? If we take Jesus’ words seriously, we can get to know the most important, powerful, intelligent, wealthy, loving person in the universe. We have an opportunity to read the words of the greatest man who ever walked the earth and to fellowship with Him. We have the privilege of having the Spirit of the Creator of the universe living in us so that we might know Him and what He has done for us. This is a promise we need to jump on. This is something we need to pursue. We don’t want to live our lives and not make the effort to know our Heavenly Father and our Saviour Jesus.
Oh, and one more thing. That we mirror the words of Jesus. When He declared that He had glorified God on the earth by finishing what God had given Him to do. May that also be our heart and our prayer. To glorify God by finishing the work He has given each of His children. The work of God is not limited to those who preach. The work of God will vary for each of us, but each of us has the opportunity and capacity to accomplish His plan for our lives. So when all is said and done down here, and we stand before the Lord, we may hear Him say, well done, good and faithful servant.
PRAYER
Dear Father, show me how I can know You and the Lord Jesus even more in this upcoming year. And reveal Your plan for my life that I might glorify You on the earth. Amen and amen!