Jeremiah 9:23-24
It is amazing at the things we often brag about as human beings. Some of us can brag about our educational achievements. We’ve gone through school and done well academically. We’ve got a bachelor’s degree or a master’s degree. Maybe you even graduated ‘Magna Cum Laude.’ Some of us graduated ‘Thank the Lawd…’ Or, maybe you’ve worked yourself up the corporate ladder and have become a company big whig. Perhaps you built a business from the ground up. You’ve become a who’s who in the business world. There is no shortage of things that we human beings like to brag about.
Above all else, the knowledge of God is the most meaningful pursuit in life. This is what is being expressed in Jeremiah 9:23-24. God says, “If you’re going to brag, if you really want something to shout about, brag that you know Me! If you can’t talk about that, then you don’t have much to boast in.” Knowing God is the most meaningful pursuit in life, and it is also the most authentic. It is only in the true knowledge of God that come to know ourselves and the value of life. Jesus says as much in His High Priestly prayer. In John 17:1-3, He prays, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You, since You have given Him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they know You the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
According to Jesus, knowing Him is eternal life. Now, that doesn’t simply refer to how long you are going to live. He is talking about a quality of life. Eternal life means knowing God. Life can never be what it was intended to be for you or me unless that life consists of God’s life being lived out in us. Jesus says that the only way you will get eternal life is through knowing God through Himself. To know Him is to live life as it was meant to be lived. That is what Jesus meant when He said He came to give life and give more abundantly.
Eternal life equals knowing God. If you really want to live, don’t go looking for life. Look for the knowledge of God because life means knowing Him.
For more, read Proverbs 9:10; 2 Peter 1:2-3
