John 17:1-5: a reflection

1Jesus said these things, then lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may also glorify you; 2even as you gave him authority over all flesh, so he will give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3This is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. 4I glorified you on the earth. I have accomplished the work which you have given me to do. 5Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed.

In his great prayer on the night before his death, Jesus gives a definition of eternal life that is both simple and profound. This is eternal life, he says, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. Eternal life, according to Jesus, is not chiefly a matter of endless duration, of living forever, though it includes that; it is, at its heart, to know God, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. Eternal life is a relationship, a knowing of God, not merely an unending existence. To know God, the true God, and Jesus Christ, is itself eternal life; the deepest life there is, is to know him. This reframes what eternal life is: not primarily quantity of life, endless time, but a quality of life, the knowing of God, which is life indeed. Eternal life is to know God; the knowing of him is the deepest life. To know God and Jesus Christ is eternal life, a relationship, not merely endless duration. The heart of eternal life is knowing God.

Notice how Jesus defines eternal life: as knowing God. He does not define it merely as living forever, though it is that; he defines it as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. This is a striking and beautiful definition. Eternal life is not chiefly about the length of our existence, but about a relationship, the knowing of God himself. To know God, truly to know him, is eternal life; it is the deepest, fullest life there is. This means that eternal life is not only a future hope, a life we will have after death; it is a present reality, begun now, in the knowing of God. Those who know God have already begun to have eternal life, for eternal life is knowing him. And it means that the heart of the life God offers is not merely endless time but relationship with him, a knowing of him that is life itself. To have eternal life is to know God; the deepest life is to know him and Jesus Christ whom he sent. Eternal life is relationship with God, begun now in knowing him. Knowing God is the life that never ends.

That is worth resting in, for eternal life is to know God himself, a relationship begun now, not merely endless duration. We can think of eternal life chiefly as living forever, a future hope of unending time; but Jesus defines it as knowing God, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent. Eternal life is a relationship, the knowing of God, the deepest and fullest life there is, begun now in knowing him. To know God is already to have begun eternal life. When you think of eternal life, remember that it is, at its heart, to know God himself. Rest in the truth that eternal life is to know God, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he sent, a relationship and a knowing of him that is the deepest life there is, begun now and never ending, as Jesus prayed that this is eternal life, to know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent; for eternal life is not chiefly a matter of endless duration but of knowing God, a quality of life that is life indeed, so that those who know God have already begun to have eternal life, and the heart of the life God offers is not merely unending time but relationship with him, the knowing of him that is itself the deepest life.

Lord Jesus, in your great prayer on the night before your death, you give a definition of eternal life that is both simple and profound. This is eternal life, you say, that they should know you, the only true God, and him whom you sent, Jesus Christ. Eternal life, according to you, is not chiefly a matter of endless duration, of living forever, though it includes that; it is, at its heart, to know God, to know the only true God and you whom he sent. Eternal life is a relationship, a knowing of God, not merely an unending existence. Show me how you define eternal life: as knowing God. You do not define it merely as living forever, though it is that; you define it as knowing the only true God and you whom he sent. This is a striking and beautiful definition. Eternal life is not chiefly about the length of my existence, but about a relationship, the knowing of God himself. To know God truly is eternal life; it is the deepest, fullest life there is. This means eternal life is not only a future hope; it is a present reality, begun now, in the knowing of God. Those who know God have already begun to have eternal life. The heart of the life you offer is not merely endless time but relationship with God. Let me rest in that, for eternal life is to know God himself, a relationship begun now, not merely endless duration. I can think of eternal life chiefly as living forever; but you define it as knowing God. To know God is already to have begun eternal life. When I think of eternal life, help me remember that it is, at its heart, to know God himself, Lord, a relationship and a knowing of him that is the deepest life there is, begun now in knowing you whom the Father sent.