And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)
We have been answering the question, “why don’t I enjoy God?” Many, many Christians would confess that they don’t enjoy God. They know that they can enjoy God. They know that they should enjoy God. But they don’t enjoy God.
They want to enjoy Him. They may try to enjoy Him. But their efforts end in frustration, and soon it is back to the grindstone. I believe this is the case among believers who are faithful to their devotions. I believe it is the case among believers who are careful in their everyday lives, who strive to honor God and do what is right.
We have observed several hindrances to our delight in the Lord. So far, we have considered two of the most obvious – you cannot enjoy God until you are born again, and you cannot enjoy God while harboring sin. I want to tackle yet another hindrance to enjoying God – we cannot enjoy God if we do not know Him.
In His intercessory prayer, Jesus said that knowing God the Father and God the Son “is life eternal.” That is, “eternal life is not so much everlasting life as personal knowledge of the Everlasting One.” (D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, p. 556) This eternal life begins the moment we receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior. It reaches its summit in the day when we hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant… enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Between the day we receive Christ and the day we see Him, we can expect to grow into that joy and delight in the Lord Jesus Christ. But our growth as Christians, as measured by the growing delight we experience in the Lord Jesus, comes as we grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him.
Continue reading “To Enjoy God, We Must Know Him”