Why should I take the time to really get to know Jesus?

In John 14:6 (NKJV), Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” In order to have a relationship with God, I had to go through Jesus.

In the books of Matthew and 1 John, I came across some scriptures that really put the reason why into perspective for me. In Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV) Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' “ In 1 John 1:5-6 (NKJV) it states this about Jesus, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. “ If we say we have a relationship with Jesus but do not live our life by walking in His ways, then we are lying and really don’t have a relationship with Him at all!

I also read in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 (NKJV), “…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.” 1 John 2:4 (NKJV) states, ”He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Liars will not inherit eternal life (see Revelation 21:8).

I wanted to really know Jesus and I also wanted Him to really know me. I also wanted to practice the truth by being obedient to Him, walking in His light (see Ephesians 5:8-11). 1 John 1:7 (NKJV) states “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” Having a relationship with Jesus means that I also have a relationship with God.

I also didn’t want to be judged a liar and I didn’t want to spend eternity away from His presence, punished in everlasting destruction. So, to understand this kind of relationship and lifestyle that Jesus was talking about, I began a more in-depth study of the first two commandments that He deemed most important.

(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)