This is Life Eternal

One of my favorite scriptures is part of Christ’s Intercessory Prayer, found in John 17:3.

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

This scripture states very plainly our goal in this life: to come to know our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.  I have always loved the doctrine that life eternal is not to know about God, but to know God.  Even if we knew everything there was to know about God, it wouldn’t be enough if we didn’t have a personal relationship with our Father in Heaven and with our Savior.  Through that personal relationship, we can be changed and purified, that we may qualify for eternal life.

It is hard to get to know someone without spending time together, so if we want to know God, we need to learn how to spend time with Him.  Scripture study - feasting upon the words of Christ - and private, earnest prayer will help us to communicate with our Father and learn of His ways.  As we strive to apply the teachings we learn and invite the Spirit into our lives, His influence will become more present in our lives.  The Spirit is a member of the Godhead, and as we become familiar with what it feels like to be in His presence, we will understand God better and be more prepared to meet Him.  I know that living the gospel will help us come to know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and that when we ultimately return to God’s presence, we will feel at home there.

The Things That Are God's

In Matthew 22, the Pharisees come yet again to tempt Jesus, asking Him questions in an attempt to catch Him in His words, that they might find some accusation against Him.  Their interaction is recorded in verses 17-21:

17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not?

18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.

20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription?

21 They say unto him, Cæsar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

The answer to the questions the Pharisees asked - is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar? - is pretty straightforward.  Jesus makes it clear that doing our duty as citizens does not need to interfere with our duty towards God.  After all, we believe in being subject to secular leaders and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law (see Article of Faith 12).

However, there’s a deeper lesson here.  We render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and we know that the tribute money is his because it bears his image.  What, then, is God’s? We bear His image, having been created in the image of God (see Genesis 1:26-27).  Further, as disciples of Christ, we ought to have “the image of God engraven upon [our] countenances” (Alma 5:19).  It is therefore required of us to render unto God the things that are God’s, namely, all that we have and are.  To me, this means much more than dedicating our time and our resources to God and His Church.  I think of Alma 36:37 - “let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.”

This means loving God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls, and prioritizing our relationship with Him over anything else.  It means being willing to obey His commandments and accept His will, even when it doesn’t make sense to us.  It means trusting that Heavenly Father can do more with what we have than we can do on our own.

Of course we know that God can do far more with our resources than we can, but that doesn’t always make it easy to hand them over to Him.  We don’t like not being in control, and the immediate gratification of doing what we want can be so appealing compared to the seemingly distant reward promised if we follow God’s ways.  It takes a lot of trust, a lot of faith, and a lot of self-control to choose to follow Christ when all we can see is a few steps ahead of us.  Sometimes I catch myself trying to convince myself that surely God doesn’t expect me to give Him everything.  He knows my limitations, right?  Of course He does, and not once has He asked for more than I could give with His help.  I have learned that trying to justify giving less of myself can never make me happy and will never lead me to become the person that He knows I can become.  As Elder Bednar has said, “Each of us needs God’s help in surrendering our will to Him.”

I know that we will be able to obtain happiness in this life and eternal glory in the life to come if we will “render unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21).  As hard as it has sometimes been, I have never regretted giving too much to the Lord.  Giving is hardly a sacrifice when I receive so much in return.

The Prodigal Son

This week in class we talked about the parable of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15.  I’ve always loved this parable, but something different has stood out to me the last couple times I’ve studied it.  The younger of a certain man’s two sons takes his portion of the inheritance and leaves home, wasting his substance in riotous living in a far land.  Before long he is absolutely broke - even the pigs he is tending are eating better than he is.  When the young man finally comes to himself, he realizes that even the hired servants in his father’s house have plenty to eat.  He devises a plan: “I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants” (Luke 15:18-19).

I can just imagine the prodigal son on the long road home, rehearsing his little speech.  I can imagine the weight he must have carried in his heart, knowing he has insulted and disgraced his father.  He knows he does not deserve his father’s mercy, but he knows that his father is a good man and hopes that there might be some place in his house for a repentant son-turned-servant.

I think most of us have probably felt like the prodigal son at some point in our lives.  I know what it feels like to carry the weight of knowing that I haven’t just made a mistake, I’ve willfully rebelled against my Father.  Sometimes we feel utterly unforgivable, no more worthy to be called a son or daughter of God.

That is why I love the father’s response so much:  “But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:21).  The son forgets even to plead for mercy, only expressing his feeling of unworthiness.  He must have been so surprised when his father gave him a new robe and shoes (which he probably needed badly), placed a ring on his hand, and threw him a party.

This is exactly how our Heavenly Father reacts when we repent and return to Him.  He doesn’t say to us, “You’re right, you are no longer worthy to be called my daughter.  I guess you can have a place in the kitchen or something, but you’ll have to earn your keep.”  Of course not!  He loves us so much and is longing for us to return to Him, like the father in the parable that saw his son while he was still far away and ran to him.  He showers us with love and blessings, far more than we could hope to deserve.  As Elder Holland once said, “Surely the thing God enjoys most about being God is the thrill of being merciful, especially to those who don’t expect it and often feel they don’t deserve it.”

Repentance is not a punishment.  It is one of the greatest blessings that the Lord offers us.  When we repent and return to our Father with full purpose of heart, He forgives freely and blesses us generously.  We need never be afraid to approach Him with a broken heart and contrite spirit, no matter how far we have wandered and how much we have wasted.  He will always welcome us back with open arms.

Lord, Save Me

This week in class, we talked about the miracle of Peter walking on water, as recorded in Matthew 14.  We’re familiar with the story: Christ’s disciples are crossing the sea of Galilee, and they’re having a rough time.  The wind is contrary and the ship is tossed with waves.  Christ comes to them, walking on the sea, and assures the frightened disciples that it is He and they need not be afraid.  Peter entreats Christ: “Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water” (Matthew 14:28).  He is able to walk on the water until he sees the wind boisterous and begins to sink.  He cries out to the Lord for help, and immediately Jesus reaches out and saves Peter.

Peter’s faith amazes me.  He walked on water!  He had enough faith in the Savior to step out of the boat and walk to Him.  So why did he sink?  How on earth could he doubt while he was walking on water?  I think the answer is in this verse: “But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid” (Matthew 14:30).  When he took his eyes off the Savior and saw the fierce wind on the raging sea, he was afraid.

Peter is a fisherman - he is very familiar with the sea.  He’s had enough experience to know, without a doubt, that he is not more powerful than the storm.  In the fight between sea and seaman, the sea will win every time.  What he’s forgotten in this moment is that he doesn’t have to be more powerful than the storm.  It is not Peter’s power that allows him to walk on water, but that of the Savior.

All too often, I find myself doing exactly the same thing.  I worry and stress over problems that I know are too big for me to handle, problems I know I can’t solve on my own.  Of course I know that there is no problem too big for the Lord to handle.  My mistake in these moments is not a lack of faith in the Lord, not thinking that He doesn’t have power over all things He has created.  Instead, I’m misplacing my faith.  I’m relying on myself rather than on my Heavenly Father.  It is when I rely on myself that I am worried, stressed, and fearful.  When I put my trust in my Savior, that storm is calmed.

There is one more thing I love about this account: when Peter begins to sink, he cries out without hesitation, knowing that Christ has the power to save him.  Hearing Peter’s pleas, Christ immediatley stretches forth His hand to lift Peter.  He doesn’t say, “Well, you got yourself into this mess, so you’ll have to get yourself out.”  The Savior does not punish us for lacking faith.  He lifts us, teaches us, and encourages us.  Christ does not admonish Peter to make him feel ashamed for faltering.  He asks, “Wherefore didst thou doubt?” (Matthew 14:31) to lift Peter’s vision of who He can become.  And He does exactly the same thing with each of us.  He is never too far to stretch forth His hand and rescue us when we cry out to him in faith.