Eternal Life

In the back of every human mind is one daunting question. It has plagued us from Adam to Abraham, Babe Ruth to Michael Jordan. Our hearts seek and seek for the answer – sometimes for years, decades, and even our whole lives. Great food and drink, sex, family, friends, therapy and good music all give us momentary comfort but they still don’t silence that nagging uncertainty in the deepest place of our consciousness. The question is asked in many different ways but it all comes down to something like this:

Why do I exist? What’s the point? Why am I here?

Even in the church we fill our lives with prayer meetings, bible studies, fasting, outreaches, miracles, prophecies, and many other things. All of these things are fine and dandy but in and of themselves they do not give true rest to our souls. True and lasting peace is what we are looking for. We want to be happy. Not fake happy, but a deep and true happiness in the deepest part of our beings.

Jesus said we could find this happiness and rest. He was certain that the terrifying question could be silenced. He said He came to give us this sort of thing and He called it “eternal life.” He said that we would have “eternal life” by knowing Him and His Father. “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”[1] The most satisfying life is a life of someone who gets to know the living God. If God is real and He is alive, well what is He like? Does He talk? Is He in a good mood? Does He hate me? What does He think of me?

To “Know” Christ

The Apostle Paul wanted a true and fulfilled life too. He claimed to have found the path and he expressed it by saying he had one purpose. He said it clearly in his letter to the Philippians. He said his purpose was to get to know Jesus, the Messiah whom God had sent.

But what does that mean? What does it mean to get to “know” Jesus? Well, the Greek word for “know” is power-packed with a ton of meaning. The Amplified Bible really opens up the full depths of what Paul meant when he said he wanted to “know” Christ:

“[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly].”[2]

The Greek word to “know” is a word about intimacy. It is a Greek word that was used to describe the sexual union between a man and a woman. Paul wanted to be deeply and intimately acquainted with God. He wanted to perceive, recognize, and understand the wonders of His Person. For Paul, this was the answer to the question of his existence.

Okay but how? How do you get to know God on such an intimate level? Do you just start talking to Him? Yes, I’d definitely encourage you to just start talking to Him. But I’d also encourage you to learn about Him so that you can understand what He is like. The ancient Proverbs say that “understanding” is precious and valuable like silver and riches.[3] To have “understanding” about God is more valuable than all the money in the world. Sure, money is great and definitely important. But no amount of money will answer that haunting question and give us true happiness.

The writer of Proverbs went on to say that if we seek understanding we will find it and find the “knowledge of God.”[4] And this “knowledge,” (just like Paul’s word, to “know”) is way more than mere facts in the head. It definitely starts there, but it leads to a deep awareness, an intimate acquaintance with the Being that created you in your mother’s womb.

The Apostle Paul prayed for you. Did you know that? He prayed that we would be filled with the knowledge of God and have spiritual wisdom and understanding.[5] So if we are serious about finding happiness then let’s embark on a journey to find the knowledge of God.

And where should we look first?

Jesus.

From the Father’s Heart

We should look to Christ. God has spoken clearly through His one and only Son. The Old Testament was filled with shadows, prophecies, and dim light, but in the first century God opened wide the curtain: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by the Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom He also created the worlds.”[6]

The ancient Jewish prophets were waiting and longing for the day when the Messiah would come. They prophesied of His coming. The reality is that up to that point the world did not know God. They lived in darkness and blindness. They had encounters with Him, but it was still not all clear. According to the Apostle John, nobody had ever seen God.[7] But Jesus, the only Son, had known and seen God forever. John said that He came straight from His Father’s bosom, or heart.[8]

And why did He come?

To make God known.[9]

Good news: The very thing that we so desperately need, to “know” God, is the very thing that Jesus came to give us. God knew that all of our happiness and satisfaction was wrapped up in Him. And so He didn’t leave us out to dry. Ever since the early days humans have misunderstood God. We’ve thought He was Zeus, fighting battles in the sky. We’ve thought God might be found in kings, presidents, and leaders of nations. We’ve even tried to convince ourselves that we are God. And yet our hearts have not been satisfied.

Leaving the Shire

Thankfully, Jesus came from God, full of grace and truth, in order to finish a work that would forever put us right in the center of what we’re looking for. He accomplished something, once-and-for-all, that gives us that which we seek. Like the Hobbits in Tolkien’s Lord of Rings, let’s set our hearts to leave the Shire, the place where we have grown comfortable with some old and stale ideas about God. Let’s take off on an adventure together to find the One who is far more precious than riches. He invites us to play a game of Hide and Seek with Him.

Tag, you’re it.

He’s hiding. Start counting.

And maybe, just maybe, you’ll see that He’s easier to find than you thought…

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[1] John 17:3

[2] Philippians 3:10a, Amplified Bible

[3] Proverbs 2:4

[4] Proverbs 2:5

[5] Colossians 1:9-10

[6] Hebrews 1:1-2

[7] John 1:18

[8] John 1:18

[9] John 1:18