John 17:3 (Declaration #1)

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."

Salvation is about relationship with God. This is the eternal life that God has given us through His Son. Salvation is not simply a "get out of jail free card" or a way to escape hell. It's not a rule book or a way to get all the stuff you want. It's all about relationship - relationship with God. And this relationship is everything that life is about. It is eternal life. Real life. Life that excites; life that invigorates; life that satisfies. This is the kind of life God gave us when He sent Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin.

What does this invigorating relationship with God that Jesus calls "eternal life" look like? Well, it is one where we know God. The word for "know" here describes a deep intimacy. It's not a "know" like when you know your friend's cousin who you just met yesterday. It's a "know" like when you know your wife. The Bible even uses this word to describe people sleeping together (or not sleeping together like when Joseph "knew [Mary] not till she had brought forth her firstborn son" in Matthew 1:25 - check your old King James Version for the word "knew", but it's the same Greek word regardless of the translation). This is not a "meet them once every couple of months" sort of know, nor is it a "I hang out with them every week" sort of know. It's a full blown, "I know you so well I can't not think about you - you invade my thoughts all day" sort of "know". This is how well God wants us to know Him. This is how close He wants to be with us. And this is what He is calling eternal life. This is what we get when we accept Jesus into our heart; we find the best friend we've ever had. He cares about everything we go through and knows about every problem we are facing. But on top of this, He also wants us to know everything we can about Him. Granted, we can never find out everything about Him. But, salvation is all about finding out as much as we can about Him. We keep on looking and looking for more truth about God. We focus on getting to know Him better. And just as the only way we can get to know our friends is to spend time with them, the only way to get to know God is to spend time with Him. Read the Bible, pray, talk to Him throughout the day, remembering that He is your friend and your companion whether you remember He is or not. He's with you because when you asked Him into your heart, you got a relationship with Him. More than a genie or fortune teller, you got a friend.

This is where we find satisfaction - in this relationship. It's also why you will never find satisfaction until you decide to follow Jesus and pursue a relationship with Him. He is all that satisfies.

I want that relationship with you, Jesus. Please help me by putting a stronger desire for relationship with you, in me!