What Do You Know?

Here we are again, deep in another school year.  I'm taking a class (and am behind already!) and a bunch of young people I know are taking classes too.  Later this year, we'll all get tested on what we know.  In high school, many students will take the ACT or the SAT tests to see if they know enough for college.  So everybody wants to know what we know, or how much we know.

Everybody except God, that is.  God doesn't care how many facts you've memorized or whether you can solve quadratic equations or chemistry problems.  He wants you to know him:  "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).

One of the reasons Jesus came is to reveal the Father to us; so that by what he said and did, we would truly know God.  He showed us the Father's heart, by healing and teaching and loving us, and by being lifted up on the cross for us:  "In the same way that Moses lifted the serpent in the desert so people could have something to see and then believe, it is necessary for the Son of Man to be lifted up—and everyone who looks up to him, trusting and expectant, will gain a real life, eternal life. "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life."  (John 3:14-17).

So, what do you know?  Do you know facts about God, or do you know a Person?  Have you memorized scripture or are you actively pursuing a living relationship with the living Jesus Christ, the Son of God?  He has already accepted you, drawn you into himself and saved you (Col. 1:19-20)-- but do you live every day knowing him and focusing on him?  Has his mind in you changed the way you think about everything you are and do?  He's still working to help me see him, and he'll keep working with you too.

Get to know Jesus -- who he is, is more important than anything else you'll ever learn!