“Were you a good student when you were in school?” Stan asked me one morning.
“I did okay,” I replied. “Not a brilliant student, but okay. Why do you ask?”
“I was thinking about the whole notion of learning the other day,” Stan replied. “I, too, was an okay student. I got through, but I can’t say I loved to learn.”
Continuing, he said, “However, that has all changed, and I now consider myself to be a John 17:3 learner, and I love it!”
“A John 17:3 learner?” I replied. “What do you mean by that?”
“As we have talked about before,” Stan responded, “Jesus is recorded as saying eternal life is knowing God the Father and Jesus the Son. I believe God intends for me to pursue that knowledge for as long as He keeps me on this side of eternity.”
“Growing before going!” I said.
“Exactly,” Stan said. “And my pursuit of knowing God is to be life-long learning that comes from drawing near to God, listening to what He has for me to hear about Him, and obeying what He says.”
“Making it real?” I replied. “Is that what you’re saying?”
“It is,” Stan said, and then added, “as I draw ever closer to God and learn about Him, I find I love, absolutely love, learning about Him.”
“For me,” he said, “there’s nothing greater on this side of eternity than knowing God as fully as I can. And that knowledge will only come from choosing to learn.”
“Choosing to learn?” I replied.
“Yes,” Stan said. “It doesn’t just happen. There are choices involved. I have to choose to pursue that learning. I have to choose to listen to what God has for me to learn. Then comes the crucial step of applying to my life what I have learned.”
Continuing, he added, “All of this loving to learn about God comes only as I submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit as He takes me from where I am, to where He has for me to be in loving to know God the Father and God the Son.”
“And,” he concluded, “knowing God the Father and God the Son leads me in growing to be who and what He intends while He keeps me here. Who couldn’t love that?!”
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And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. John 17:3.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for wanting me to know you and your Son. Thank you, too, for giving me the Holy Spirt to lead me in learning about and knowing you. I confess that too often I do not pursue knowing you and Jesus because I prefer to focus on learning things totally apart from what you have for me. Please forgive me. And please help me in following every step of your lead in wanting to know you as deeply as possible on this side of eternity. Help me in loving to learn all there is for me to know about you. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Things on this: Do you know God in the sense of being assured where you are going when you step into eternity? Do you love to learn about God the Father and Jesus His Son? Why or why not? What are the reasons God wants you to know Him? Should knowing God have an impact on how you live the life you have been given? Are there changes you should make in how you pursue knowing God? If so, pray about how God would like to lead you in making those changes.
Waiting for the Train 