Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
When I say the words eternal life, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? For a lot of people, it's streets of gold. It's heaven. It's living forever—right now. But when Jesus talks about eternal life, He ties eternal life to this: knowing a person. Notice He says: "This is the way to have eternal life, to know You."
It's one thing to know about God. For example, I can say I know Michael Jordan because I've read some facts about him on Instagram or online. I’ll say, yeah, I know Jordan. But do I really know him?
Intimate, Relational Knowing
This knowing that John is talking about—it's not just an intellectual knowing. This is an intimate, relational knowing. He says, this is where eternal life starts. It's when we actually come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. A lot of people think that eternal life starts when we die. Jesus is saying: "It starts when you know Me."
Do We Know Jesus?
Then my question to us is: Do we know Jesus? I think there are three ways that we can grow in our knowing of who Jesus is.
Number One: Reading the Bible
The first one is this: it's by reading our Bibles every day. When we talk about reading the Bible, it's important that we focus on depth, not distance. Remember, the goal is not to read 10 to 15 chapters a day. No, the goal is to hide God's Word in my heart. That's the goal.
There are verses that I've read for years and years, but it takes time to really get God's Word deep in my bones. There's some verses that I’ve read for 20 years. I remember last year I read Isaiah chapter 43, verse 2, and I thought, wow, this just hit home. I felt like it really sunk into my heart. That's the goal of reading the Bible: to hide God's Word in our hearts because that's our weapon. The enemy is going to constantly attack our minds, and we fight with the Word of God.
Number Two: Prayer
The first way we know Jesus is through His Word. The second way is through prayer. When we pray, we're pouring our hearts out to God. Our highest goal in life is to know God, to have a vibrant relationship with Him.
People always ask me, "What is my calling? I'm a teacher, or I’m a doctor, but what is my true calling?” Listen, everybody's greatest calling is to know God, to have a vibrant relationship with Him. When we know God, we're going to know who we are, and we're going to grow in our knowledge of who we become as believers.
Number Three: Community
We know God through His Word, through prayer. The third way is through community. This is where the church comes in.
If you're not plugged into a church, here's why church is important. Imagine I take my Bible out and I read a verse, and I interpret it in a way that is completely inaccurate. Well, if I'm in a church and if I'm in a small group, here's what I'll do. I'll take what I learn and I'll bring it to my small group. Sometimes people will say, "Val, you're actually very off." That's why community is so important, because we need correction and we have to make space to be corrected. As we learn about who God is, we don't just do that in isolation. We do it in a community of believers, of people who love God and love His presence.
My Encouragement to You
I want to encourage you today. Eternal life is knowing God intimately. If you've never read the Bible, start today. Start with the book of John. That's one of my favorite books to recommend to people that haven't read the Bible. Start with the book of John. Pour your heart out to God. That's what praying is. Read the Bible, and then find a Gospel-centered church.
