The single most important aspect of the Christian life is to know God. Everything flows through this privilege. If we were to never know God, we would never get to live the Christian life to begin with. After all, it was for this very relationship, that Christ came down to begin with.
“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
It is for relationship that Jesus came down to our level in the first place. Haven’t you ever wondered why Jesus came down to this evil and wicked world, lived down here for 30 years, had a 3-year ministry and still plans on coming back one day? It’s because He is our father, and He wants to be with His people. It’s His desire to know His people intimately, and for them to know Him. It is knowing Him, in fact that is true eternal life, according to John 17:3, and it was for eternal life that Jesus came down.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
Jesus came that we may have life and have it more abundantly with Him. His life and resurrection made it possible that we could have relationship with Him again and brought us together in reconciliation. Many people think that God is looking down on His people and is upset or angry, but it is He who brought us back together, and it is He who desires relationship with us.
When I gave my life to Christ, I honestly didn’t know much about Him at all. I’d only known the bits and pieces that I’d remembered from church on Sundays. But as I grew in my relationship with my Christ, I began to know more of His character. Many of the lies and misconceptions that I’d believed about Him were debunked, and His real qualities began to reveal themselves through scripture, my personal prayer time, and His faithfulness. But as I began to know Him, what was already life before, became life more abundant. Just as I was beginning to know Him, I wanted to know Him more, and He became my desire, as I was His.
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
One of the things that I’ve noticed as I’ve grown in my relationship with Christ, is that it is simply knowing Him that gives me what I need. It is Him in His character and nature that provides me with peace, love, and joy. Without Him, and without walking in relationship with Him, I believe it’s impossible to ever truly have those things.
An NBA team can never be the champions without having been in the presence of the championship stage. We could never be truly star struck if we’ve never been in the presence of a star. Similarly, we could never be loving and kind, without first meeting love and kindness firsthand.
It is His kindness, and love, through His grace that make all these things possible. It is He Himself that makes doing good works and being good even possible. And it is Him, who provides us with all that we need in this life, simply through relationship with Him, and knowing Him on a deeper level. His grace is the provision that makes all things possible, and all things work.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit”
(2 Corinthians 3:18).
There’s a quote that I have in my room that I love, that really sums this all up. It says, “I’ve learned that knowing Him is what changes you and makes you different than you were before. Then all of a sudden, it’s His eyes looking through yours”. I think that this quote puts what we’re discussing in a greater perspective.
If you’re around someone long enough, eventually you’ll start to carry some similar traits or qualities as that person. They say if you show me your five best friends, we can show you your future, because you’ll be the average of your five friends. The same thing happens when you’re in relationship with God. By knowing Him, we are being transformed into the same image of Christ, from glory to glory.
Walking in relationship with Christ and to know Him isn’t just the greatest privilege in the world, but it is actually the way in which we should live our Christian lives. It is by this, that we change into the image of God. It is by this that we keep His commandments. And it is by Him that we begin to have abundant life.
I believe that once you begin to pursue relationship with the Lord, you won’t want to stop. The Lord’s character is great, and He doesn’t want to hide it from us. He doesn’t want to put up a veil between us, so that we won’t see Him. But He wants us to look upon Him with unveiled face, giving Him all the glory and praise, and knowing Him on a deep and personal level. Because we serve a God who knows His sheep, and tends to His flock, for He cares for us.
