“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3 NIV)
The Christian life is not about what you do; it’s about Who you know. This is because only life can produce life and God’s objective is to reproduce His life in and through us. Doing flows out of knowing. This is not just an intellectual, “head knowledge,” however. It is an invitation to intimacy. God bids us into a deep, abiding, experiential relationship with Him of knowing and being known. In this relationship the Holy Spirit enables us to know God in increasing wisdom and revelation (Eph. 1:17).
© Paul R Downing, Daybreak Devotions
As we grow in intimacy and knowledge of Him we are progressively being transformed into His likeness. Our character starts reflecting His glory (2Cor. 3:18). We start becoming the persons God has known and planned us to be from before the foundation of the world (Rom. 8:29-30). We begin seeing ourselves as God sees us and His image of us becomes our self-image. When our sense of identity changes our sense of purpose, our desires, and our behavior changes.
These behavior changes become the “good works” of our Christian life. In reality, they are simply the fruit of God’s life producing life through our lives. What we do has become the result of who we are because of Who we know.