Jesus comes to earth to clarify the person and purposes of God. He said: “Everyone who believes in me also believes in the one who sent me. And everyone who sees me sees the one who sent me.”
One of the great tragedies in current religious thought is what it has done to distort the reality of belief. The dynamic, definitions and affirmations in religious thought all revolve around one’s theological considerations. Belief is admitting or agreeing with certain historic and theological conclusions. However, the original term, in all of its forms, is a relational term not a theological one. It means to rely on or have confidence in; and in this case the reliance and confidence is in a person not a principle, fact, concept or promise. The work of God, according to Jesus, is to believe in (to rely on and have confidence in) the one God sent.
The emphasis and focus of religion are on informational accuracy. While informational accuracy is not a bad thing it, according to Jesus, is not the most important thing. Earth is riveted on informational accuracy while God and his kingdom are all about relational authenticity. This brings us to the third question posed in the first of these writings. According to Jesus, what is the definition of eternal life? His answer is like reading a dictionary. He said to his Father: “This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent.” Eternal life, in the thinking, living and praying of Jesus is a relationship not a theological conclusion. There is nothing in his definition about Lordship, confession of sins, the authority of Scripture, water baptism, tithing and the like. Eternal life is not knowing about God or Jesus, it is in knowing them in an ongoing, authentic relationship.
The Scriptures record a common experience in the life and times of Jesus which highlight the monumental difference between accurate information and authentic relationship. Almost everywhere Jesus went there were individuals who knew the exact information about his identity. It’s striking to note that these individuals were not his own followers nor were they the experts in Scripture. It was the demons and the people they inhabited. They would cry out about the facts of his identity -- always accurately. However, they were not in an authentic relationship. His response to those who had accurate information but not an authentic relationship was always the same. He would tell them to be quiet and stop talking – even though they were saying true things about him.
There is an eternity of difference between knowing about someone and in actually knowing them. Simply put: you know if you know someone AND you know if you don’t. You know if you only know about someone and have never really met them. Religion wants people to “believe” in Jesus the way 330 million Americans believe in George Washington, the nation’s first president. We know about George but no one today actually knows him. The beauty of Jesus and his Father is that they are to be known and not just known about. This is a function of spirit, as he explains numerous times in the four accounts. According to Jesus, it is a function of spirit but no less real than a physical encounter. He put it this way: “My Father has given me everything, and he is the only one who knows the Son. The only one who truly knows the Father is the Son. But the Son wants to reveal the Father to others, so they can know him too … blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
*not the Urban Dictionary Term
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