Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
“Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God”
Many of the Gospel readings this week highlight critical teachings that Christ presented to his disciples at the Last Supper on the night before He died. In the above citation, Jesus equates eternal life with knowing the one, true God. It should be observed that there is a substantial difference in knowing a person and knowing about a person. For instance, one can know every single biographical detail about an individual without having any kind of actual relationship with that person at all. Really knowing a person requires being in relationship, spending quality time, and sharing one’s life with them.
It is not enough for us to know about God. Eternal life is the result of intimate friendship with God. This kind of relationship comes from actually knowing God, and one can never come to know a person from merely third-party information. A person could be the most elite scholar in the world and know everything about God while having absolutely zero relationship with God. Knowing God can only come from making time to intentionally engaging in personal relationship with Him on a regular basis. It is only in this context of relationship that we can experience the immensity of his infinite, loving desires to fill us with every good thing and bring us into eternal life.