it's Who you know

Today in the One Year Bible, Jesus tells His disciples (including you and me) many very deep and profound things. And the one that jumps out at us in John 13:31-14:14 is that the way to heaven isn't a staircase, and it isn't a book to learn. It's not a series of tasks. It's not putting away every sin and becoming perfectly holy. All of those things are involved in the process (even the staircase (Genesis 28:12 and John 1:51), but they are corollary. The MAIN and most important way to heaven is a person. Now how can that be?

Well, we know in business that the key to success isn't what we know, but who we know. The right connections will make a business profitable, and all of the hard work and dedication and book knowledge can be useless without those crucial connections. The same is true with our path to heaven. We can work hard, know lots of things, and dedicate ourselves to being holy, but without knowing Jesus, it's all pointless.

And KNOWING Jesus doesn't mean knowing lots of things about Him. This is where other languages come in handy. In Spanish (and other languages) there is more than one word for "to know". "Saber" means to know things, like facts. To know what time it is. To know that 2+2=4. "Conocer" means to know a person. To be acquainted with them. To know them personally. I "saber" who John F Kennedy is, but I don't "conocer" him personally. If I ran into him on the streets in 1962, he wouldn't know me from Adam.

So when we think about Jesus, we need to realize that we must "conocer" Him, not just "saber" things about Him. Do you know Him? Have you met Him? When you meet Him on That Day, will He know you from Adam? If not, now is a good time to introduce yourself.

God, thanks for being the way to heaven. Help us know You better.