What is eternal life?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16
We find here in this well-known verse that Jesus came to bring us eternal life.  So what is this eternal life?  A couple years ago I would've said that it's the result of being saved; that we will go to Heaven and live with God forever.  I would have attributed it to what happens after this life.  This brings to mind an old hymn that many of you might recognize which describes some of this sentiment.

When we all get to Heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We’ll sing and shout the victory!
 
There was a part of me that always felt like something wasn't right here.  That my understanding was a bit off.  I've heard eternal life preached too much about being with God after we die.  Too often I've heard salvation spoken about as "fire-protection", basically, a life insurance policy for our eternity.  But guess what, that's not what Jesus preached. 

Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.  This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." - John 17:1-3


Did you catch that?  I was a christian for 15-20 years and hadn't noticed.  Firstly, eternal life is not about what happens after you die, it's about the hear and now.  Second and more importantly, eternal life is to know God.  Forgiveness of sins, going to heaven, living forever, those are just by-products of the true root of eternal life.  It's knowing Jesus, and knowing God.  Think about it.  What were Adam and Eve created for?  There was no mission field, no homeless to feed, no ministries to support.  They were made to fellowship with God.  Their sin messed that up, and ever since, God's been bringing us back.

Too often we have treated knowing God like knowing our presidents.  We've listened to them in speeches, we've read about their history, looked at their policies, debated them in our workplaces, but does that mean we really know them?  Of course not.  To know them, we must spend time with them, most of all, we must listen. We can know God.  We can come to know Him as a person, not just some ideal.

For one last thing, lets look at the heart of David.  Saul attempted to kill him multiple times, then chased him through the wilderness.  Through this all, look at his words below.


The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the defense of my life;
Whom shall I dread? 
When evildoers came upon me to devour my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, 
they stumbled and fell. 
Though a host encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
In  spite of  this I shall be confident.
One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple. - Psalm 27:1-4

David says that his enemies have come to devour him, they've encamped around about him, yet what does he want most?  What is it that he desires?  His words have been a motto of mine for the last year or so, as you can see, they're the title of this blog.  "One thing I ask".  I want to get to the point where I can say that the one thing I want more than anything is to seek for God's presence.