Dear Friends,
“Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” John 17:3
These are some of Jesus’ last words before his crucifixion, when he is in the Garden of Gethsemane. He affirms here what he has been saying throughout his ministry; that real faith, real religion, is about relationship. It is not about a formula or a system, but about encounter with the living God. A few days later, after his resurrection, Jesus walks into the room where his disciples are hiding and greets them. Who they encounter is a person and his Holy Spirit. What we are called to is not a what, but a who, a person. He is the center, he is the focus, he is the way, truth and life for us, his followers.
A few days before Connie Jacobsen, our Teleios founder, passed into glory, Shawn and I were with him and his family. It was a holy time together. Connie was only able to whisper at that point, and what he whispered to us was: “prayer and fellowship.” As we reflected on some of Connie’s last words, it became clear he was affirming the great command, to love God with all our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. It was a call to focus on prayer - our relationship with Jesus, and on fellowship - our relationships with each other.
Relationships will go into eternity.
The further we are in our following, the sharper that focus becomes - “that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Blessings,
Art
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