As Stan does frequently when we get together for breakfast, one morning he mentioned he’d been talking to a neighbor about the neighbor’s walk to faith. “What’d he have to say?” I asked.
“After he’d pursued a life that focused on the seeming importance of who he knew to get ahead in his business career,” Stan replied, “my neighbor told me that he came to realize that everything of importance is really contingent on something else.”
“Something else? Like what?”
“Who, with a capital W, you know,” Stan replied with a smile. “Jesus talked about that.”
“What’d Jesus say?”
“That eternal life is knowing Him and His Father.”
“Eternal life is knowing Jesus and His Father,” I repeated. “Sounds like your neighbor got it right. It is all about Who you know!”
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Bible verses to consider:
And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. John 17:3.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. John 3:16-17.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for giving Jesus and His finished work on the cross as the way to life with you, the life that begins here and will continue forever. Even though I know I will spend eternity in your presence, I confess that too often while I remain on this side of eternity I don’t make the effort to know you and Jesus as well as you want and intend for me. Please forgive the foolishness of trying to live the new life you’ve given without knowing you and Jesus as deeply as possible. Thank you that I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: Do you know God in the sense you’ve accepted His provision of life with Him through Jesus? If no, why do you choose to remain separated from God both now and forever? If you are a Christian with the assurance of salvation and redemption, how are you doing with your pursuit of knowing God as well and as deeply as possible? If you sense the need for change with any of this, how is that change going to happen? Is that what you truly want? Why or why not?
The need: Since God knows what we need before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8), what does He know you need in order to actually know Him as deeply as possible? Spend time studying God’s word, praying, reflecting, and journaling to see what God knows you need. He will show you!
Forward: Do you know others who would or could benefit from this devotional? If so, why not forward it and open them to be part of the conversation between Stan and S. Tory Teller?