J. I. Packer asks a probing question that is perhaps the most fundamental question we can ever ask about life and that is what were you made for. Packer goes on to say: “What were we made for? To know God. What aim should we have in life? To know God. What is the eternal life that Jesus gives? To know God. What is the best thing in life? To know God. What in humans gives God most pleasure? Knowledge of himself.”1
Mankind is created in the image of God and his chief end in life is to know and glorify His Creator. And there is absolutely nothing in this universe that can bring more joy, delight, and contentment than having a deep and intimate knowledge of God. Blaise Pascal said it well when he remarked that every person is born with a spiritual vacuum that only Jesus Christ can fill. Until you know Jesus, not just intellectually, but in a deep, intimate, and personal way, as your Lord and Savior, you don’t really know God. You may know about God but there is a huge difference between knowing God and knowing about God.
Thomas A. Tarrants helps us understand the difference between knowing God and knowing about God when he shared: “When we speak of knowing God, it is important to understand that we are not talking about abstract or speculative thought concerning God or mystical experiences but about coming alive to God through Jesus Christ and surrendering ourselves to Him in grateful love.”2 Knowing God goes beyond just an awareness that he exists, or merely knowledge about him. It means having a personal and intimate relationship with Jesus.
Even the concept of eternal life basically means to know God. I like how the website GotQuestions.org puts it: “Within all of us there exists a strong desire to be known and to know others. The most important Person to know is our Creator. In fact, Jesus taught that eternal life is not just a span of time; it is a relationship: ‘Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent’ (John 17:3).”3
My friends the Christian walk is a wonderful journey to get to know Jesus more intimately with each passing day. His nature is such that no matter how close we get to Him we will never fully know everything there is to know about Him. But the exciting thing about our journey with Christ is that the more we seek Him, the more we worship Him, and the more we strive to obey His will, the more we will get to experience His fellowship and bask in His awesome love for us!
1 J.I. Packer – What were we made for? To know God. What aim… (bibleportal.com)
2 Knowing God Personally – C.S. Lewis Institute (cslewisinstitute.org)
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