The Life That Begins Now

"Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." — John 17:3 (NIV)

You have probably done this. Decided something was going to change, and then it didn't. Not this week, not the next. Not for lack of wanting. The wanting was real. Something quieter stopped you. You started waiting to feel ready. Waiting to be the kind of person who would do this without hesitation, someone who already has this settled on the inside, someone who would not need to think twice. And while you waited, the weeks passed, and then the months. The beginning kept not happening. Not because the door was closed. Because you were waiting for a version of yourself that hadn't arrived yet. Most of us have learned that wanting something and actually beginning are not always the same thing. There can be a surprising distance between the two.

The night before Jesus died, He prayed for the friends who would soon have to follow Him without seeing Him. Near the beginning of that prayer, He said something both simple and unexpected. "Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (John 17:3) He began with knowing. And knowing Him can begin today, even before everything else in life feels settled.

James wrote to people whose lives felt scattered. "Come near to God and he will come near to you." (James 4:8) Waiting has a quiet way of feeling reasonable. Paul described the same God moving toward us long before we were ready to respond. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) He did not wait for us to be different before He came near.

Without ever deciding it, we can quietly come to believe there will be a better time to begin. Then we read words like these. "Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life." (Revelation 22:17) It begins with the one who is thirsty and wishes.

Jesus said, "whoever comes to me I will never drive away." (John 6:37) Whoever comes. Those two words leave no one standing outside. There is room in those words for anyone, anywhere, at any time. You do not have to wait until you become someone different before taking the next step. The life Jesus described begins in knowing Him, and that invitation is still open today.

Prayer

Father, thank You that knowing You does not begin when we finally feel ready. Keep drawing us closer today, and help us notice the quiet ways You are already at work. Keep us close. Amen.