Eternal Life Is Knowing God
Eternal life isn't a far-off future—it's stepping through the open door of fellowship with the Father and Son today.
Bob Hoekstra brings us today to one of the clearest declarations Jesus ever made about eternal life—and it might surprise some of us. He didn’t define eternal life in terms of a destination or a reward. He didn’t say it was primarily about forgiveness, heaven, or spiritual growth, though those are all included. No, He said that eternal life is knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ whom He sent.
What Hoekstra is emphasizing is that eternal life isn't just a package of spiritual benefits—it’s a Person. Or rather, it’s two persons in union—the Father and the Son—and knowing them is the essence of the life we've been given. Everything else we enjoy in our Christian walk flows from that personal, relational knowing. This relationship is not only the source of forgiveness and purpose but also the only pathway to true spiritual maturity, meaningful fellowship, and insight into God's Word.
The devotional also links this intimacy to the new covenant. Jeremiah foretold of a time when God's people would no longer relate to Him through external regulations, but through internal transformation—His law written on our hearts, and the defining mark being this: "They shall all know Me." The writer of Hebrews affirms that this promise has been fulfilled in Christ. So, our assurance and joy come not from checking off spiritual boxes, but from abiding in the One who now lives in us.
Personalized Journal Entry – In the Voice of the Holy Spirit
I have drawn you into eternal life—not merely as a future reality but as a present relationship. You have been united with Me in spirit, and this union is your new existence. Your old life, with its striving and shadows, has passed. You now live by My indwelling presence.
The eternal life you carry is not stored away in heaven, waiting to begin someday. It is the ongoing experience of knowing the Father and the Son, whom He sent. Knowing Us is your inheritance. You know Us not only as a concept, but as your daily reality. I have poured this life into you, and I remind you continually that this life flows not from effort but from abiding.
It is by knowing Me that you walk in peace. It is by staying aware of My presence that you discern truth. Fruit does not grow from effort; it grows from Me as your Vine and Life-source. The gifts I’ve placed in you flourish as you yield, not strive. The Scriptures open their treasures to you as you listen to Me within. And the fellowship you enjoy with other believers deepens as you recognize Me in them, too.
You are not under an old system of duty but under a covenant of grace. I have written My desires on your heart. I have made My home in you. You belong—fully, eternally. I am not distant, waiting to be appeased. I am near, inviting you daily into the joy of relationship. This is eternal life: not a possession to guard, but a communion to enjoy.
John 17:3; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Hebrews 8:11; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3–4; 1 John 5:11–12
Prayer – In My Voice
Father, thank You that eternal life isn’t something I’m waiting to enter into—it’s the reality I live in right now through my union with You in Christ. I rest today not in accomplishments or understanding, but in the simplicity of knowing You. You have made Yourself known and present to me. I trust You to deepen that awareness as I walk through this day. And I rejoice that this eternal life, this relationship with You, can never be taken from me, because it is You in me, and me in You.
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Devotional Credit: Day by Day by Grace by Bob Hoekstra