“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3 (KJV)
“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ and become one with him.” Phil.3:8 (NLT)
It seems that our Lord was concerned that his disciples would genuinely know the “only true” God. This points us to the thought that there must be a false god (or many false ones) that can be known. Yet, eternal life is directly tied to knowing “the only true God and Jesus Christ.”
Paul’s personal concern and testimony is that Knowing Christ is more precious than anything else. This great Apostle considered his past life, his personal skill and ability (Phil. 3:3-4), his family heritage (v. 5a), his religious beliefs and connections (v. 5b-6a), and his personal ethics (v. 6b) as worthless items of life in comparison to the value of knowing Christ. He tells the saints at Philippi that everything he had previously considered to be valuable is now worthless because such items cannot bring him the knowledge of Christ.
At the very core of this perspective is desire . . . a desire to identify and know, really know the Only True God. Let us adopt this goal: to be found in him, to know him, to know the power of his resurrection, to know the fellowship of his sufferings, and to be conformed to him. There is nothing more valuable than knowing Christ this intimately. In fact, eternal life depends on it.
Dear Father, thank you for revealing yourself through Jesus Christ our Lord. Empower us with the goal to know you and only you as our God. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today in knowing the Only True God,