What Does It Mean to Truly Know Jesus?
By Alexis A. Goring
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”— John 17:3 NIV
When I studied Journalism, one of the first rules I learned was when you refer to a person in a news story, you need to mention their first and last name for the first time. After that, you are to refer to them by their last name only. However, if you know the person personally, then you may refer to them by their first name only (depending on the in-house style guide rules for the print publication).
One summer evening, I was reflecting on that lesson learned and realized a spiritual parallel: Jesus Christ wants us to know Him personally. He wants us to know Him and refer to Him on a first-name basis. But this goes beyond writing rules. Jesus went to great lengths to save our souls. He desires to know us and for us to know Him intimately. He wants a closer walk with each of us because He loves us and, when you love someone, you want to know everything about them. You don’t refer to a loved one with a professional-sounding last name. You may even have a fond nickname for that person that reflects their personality or shows what they mean to you. How does it feel to know that the Savior of the world wants to know us on those terms?
What does it mean to know Jesus? I hear Christian influencers and musicians say to know Him is to love Him, and I agree that nothing else could be closer to the truth! When you know Jesus, it changes your life for the better. When you truly invite Jesus into your heart and have real conversations with Him, He renews your mind, strengthens your heart, and refreshes your soul. There is a deep joy that can only come through an intimate relationship with the Lord. And a relationship with Jesus doesn’t just change you, it changes the people around you. They start to notice a difference in you and want to know what happened. When you tell them about your love for God and invite them to read The Holy Bible, with the Holy Spirit’s help they can also get to know Jesus. They, too, can become on fire for Him. The process of observing a life changed by Jesus causes people to want to know Him as well, carrying on like a ripple effect. Before we know it, we see Him changing the world for the better!
I got to know Jesus on a personal level when I was recovering from a health crisis at age 16. Despite growing up in a Christian home, I only knew a lot about Jesus. But when He came into my life and met me in the depths of a difficult time, His Light pushed back the darkness and His love for me—and all humankind—changed me from the inside out! He blessed me with this devotional writing ministry as if He, the Master Teacher, had enrolled me in His classroom. God helped me learn life lessons, then inspired the words for me to share in devotions that were exactly what I and my readers needed to hear! I fell in love with Jesus as my Lord and my love for Him propelled me to tell everyone about my Savior! I still feel called to do that today.
Since my transformation from knowing about Christ to knowing Jesus on a first-name basis, people have commented on how the changes they saw in my life have inspired them to know Jesus, too. This is what God wants: for us to make disciples and share His love, grace, and mercy with the world. He doesn’t want any of us to be lost. Jesus wants us to follow Him all the way to Heaven (John 3:16-17).
“Knowing You, Jesus,” by Graham Kendrick is a song that also celebrates a close relationship with Christ. I encourage you to listen to it.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
Do you know Jesus? What difference in someone’s life have you seen after they started following Him?
Further Reading:
1 Peter 2:9
2 Peter 3:18
John 1:1
John 8:12
1 John 2:3
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Sinenkiy
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Related Resource: How Habit Stacking Will Help You Discipline Your Mind, Body, & Spirit
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