After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed. He said, “Father, the time has come. Bring glory to your Son. Then your Son will bring glory to you. You gave him authority over all people. He gives eternal life to all those you have given him.
“And what is eternal life? It is knowing you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth. I have finished the work you gave me to do. So now, Father, give glory to me in heaven where your throne is. Give me the glory I had with you before the world began."
What is eternal life? It is knowing God the Father and Jesus. Eternal life is not a destination. It’s not a set of facts to be believed. It’s not a state of being. Eternal life is a relationship. Specifically, eternal life is knowing God the Father and knowing Jesus. Jesus’ purpose in ministry was to show us the Father. His work was to make it possible for us to be in relationship with, to be connected to, the Father.
So if relationship is Jesus’ goal. How much does that translate into our lives? What’s the purpose of our gathering together? I believe our purpose in ministry is to show “the world” God the Father. We do this through relationship: relationship with each other, relationship with Jesus and relationship with the Father. I cannot directly bring glory to someone I don’t know.
If we desire to be fully alive, if we want to be fully free, if it’s our goal to become everything we were created to become, we will find all of these things in a relationship with God the Father.
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