And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 17:3
In the last article, we looked at the idea that it is possible to know God. Keep in mind that this is different from a complete understanding. We will have an eternity to contemplate the love of God expressed in God the Father’s sacrificial love…Jesus’ life, death, burial, resurrection, mediation, and His creation of a new earth,God Wants Us to Know and Understand Him
God wants us to know and understand Him, but mastery of this knowledge is impossible because of who we are (His creation) and who He is (The Creator). But, it is the basic things about knowing God that is important anyway. The most powerful and simple intercessory prayer recorded in the Bible came from the heart of Jesus before His death on the cross. As we read it in John 17, we will begin to know the basic things about God the Father and Jesus. These elementary things are powerful and dynamic. Let’s read the first five verses of Jesus’ prayerJesus spoke these words, lifted His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
John 17: 1-5
What can easily be seen in Jesus’ prayer is His acknowledgment and acceptance that His time had come. His pending painful death for our sins is only hours away. Jesus wants to avoid this death. He wants the cup of suffering to pass over Him. Nevertheless, Jesus defers to the Father’s plan that the sorrowful cup of sacrifice is drunk to the last drop. Jesus, the innocent lamb of God who knew nothing but love, and compassion, would die the death we deserve so that we can enjoy the life He deserved. We won’t have scars on our palms or side forever. He will. The only imperfection in heaven will be those scars on the glorified body of Christ. These scars will remind us of our redemption from a sin-crazed world. That is why sin and rebellion will never raise their ugly heads again.
Jesus’ death on a splintery rugged cross would bring glory to both the Father and the Son: even though the enemy thought it would scare Jesus away. But love was stronger.
In Jesus’ prayer, we can see that authority over all of us is given from God the Father to Jesus. This is not a “bossy” authority but a protective authority. Jesus, in turn, Jesus provides eternal life for those given to Him. But this eternal life is not arbitrary, by chance, ancestry, or anything else; it is through a developed knowledge of God the Father and Jesus.
How does this life-saving knowledge come to the saved? It is by learning about God through at least three basic sources in this world. Today, we will describe the first 2:
- God’s communication through His creation.
- The face of a child.
- The preserved word of those God inspired to write about God’s dealings with humanity from the very beginning. The story provides understanding.
- The life of Christ
- The faith of those who knew God.
His Creation
Anyone with eyes and ears can learn about God through His creation, or what we call nature. A simple walk or hike will lift the heart upward. As a young man with job responsibilities and a family, I would sometimes need to escape. This I did by hiking with a couple of Chrisitan friends for a few days in the Great Smokey Mountains or other such places near home. I can still remember the burden removed from my shoulders as I walked only a hundred yards on the path into the woods. Today, the daily habit of short walks in the country setting of my home re-connects me to the reality of a Creator God.
Paul tells the Romans in the first chapter that God’s creation is sufficient proof of God’s existence and that we have no excuse for believing otherwise.
For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Romans 1:20
Nature can help us understand the great mystery of His eternal power and even the Godhead! Wow! Think about that for a second or two. But many will reject this knowledge. Paul continues……because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.
Romans 1:21-22
So even though the evidence is right there in their faces, they choose to be unthankful for the things that reveal God and sustain them. Their thoughts become futile and dark. They think they are wise, but they are fools—such a sad train of reasoning of the lost. But God searches for ways to appeal to their intellect. He draws them to Himself with kindness and the deep meaning of sacrificial love, as shown on the cross.With everlasting kindness, I will have mercy on you,” Says the Lord, your Redeemer.
Isaiah 54:8
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore, with lovingkindness, I have drawn you.
Jeremiah 31:3
Yes, even the modest of God’s creations tells of the character of God. Because of this, no man has an excuse to wonder about God.“God is love” is written upon every opening bud, upon every spire of springing grass. The lovely birds making the air vocal with their happy songs, the delicately tinted flowers in their perfection perfuming the air, the lofty trees of the forest with their rich foliage of living green — all testify to the tender, fatherly care of our God and to His desire to make His children happy The word of God reveals His character. He Himself has declared His infinite love and pity. Steps to Christ, p. 10
The Face of A Child
Perhaps nothing can reach the heart of anyone like the face of a child. There in that little t face with those bright eyes is the unspoiled, innocent face of God looking back at you. The love that a Mother and Father have for a child is evidence of a loving, caring, protective Heavenly Father. The righteous feelings and pride of parents explain the necessity of the sacrifice of their own lives and the overwhelming desire to protect to the uttermost. To parents, the life of that child supersedes anything else in this world. In the same way, God calls us adults, his children. How Jesus treated the little children of His day tells us how much He cares for us.Once when some mothers were bringing their children to Jesus to bless them, the disciples shooed them away, telling them not to bother him.
But when Jesus saw what was happening, he was very much displeased with his disciples and said to them, “Let the children come to me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as they. Don’t send them away! I tell you as seriously as I know how that anyone who refuses to come to God as a little child will never be allowed into his Kingdom.”
Then he took the children into his arms and placed his hands on their heads and he blessed them. Mark 10:13-16
“Let the children come to me, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as they” Jesus
Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.
Luke 17: 2-3
If you want to know God, observe the innocence of a child and how Jesus relates to them. If you want to see Satan, look at how he and his followers treat a child for selfish sake. Jesus is our protector and the apple of His eye. He, as our Heavenly Father, looks upon us as His children. This is what we can know about God through the face of a child.