To know Him is to love Him

John 14:7  " 'If you really knew Me, you would know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him.' "

What does it mean to really know someone?  Is it enough to simply read about them?  Is it enough to simply hear what they said?  Is it enough to know what they taught? 

Knowing about someone is not the same as knowing them.  Jesus asks us to really know Him.  He goes further by asking us to love Him.  The order of these two makes sense- after all, you can't love someone without really knowing them.  So in order to fulfill His request that we love Him, we must really know Him. 

There are so many aspects to really knowing someone.  Their personality, their quirks, their fears and insecurities, their sense of humor, their moods and so on.  It is not until you reach this knowledge of someone that you have an opportunity to fall in love with them. 

How do we achieve this level of knowledge with Jesus, so that we can then love Him?  How do we turn Him into a real person and not just a storybook character we encounter in the pages of the Bible?  John Eldredge, one of my favorite authors, released a new book this week entitled, Beautiful Outlaw.  In the book, he explores the personality and humanness of Jesus so that we may really know Him.  I look forward to reading it and sharing in his insights.

If you are interested, here is a link to an introductory video trailer about the book:
http://updates.ransomedheart.com/beautifuloutlaw_trailer/