READ: EPHESIANS 1:17-19; 2 PETER 3:18; 1 JOHN 5:20

In fifth grade, I wrote a report on Eleanor Roosevelt. For weeks I studied her, read many resources about her, and wrote down all kinds of information and facts about her. I even had to dress up like her to make my presentation to the class. By the end of all that research, I felt like I knew just about everything about her.

But even with all of my fact-gathering, I didn’t really know Eleanor Roosevelt at all. I knew about her, but I didn’t know her personally. I didn’t know her voice, the way she smiled, what made her laugh, her character, or any of the things you know about someone when you have a close relationship with them.

The same is true for our relationship with Jesus. We can participate in Bible studies, Christian camps, youth group, Sunday school, and a multitude of other good things. But unless we are seeking to know Jesus better through them, it’s all just head knowledge. We can know all sorts of facts about Jesus without really knowing Him at all.

Jesus wants more for us than just head knowledge. He desires a deep, personal relationship with us. That’s why He was willing to die on the cross— because He loves us and wants to be with us forever. When we put our trust in Jesus, we enter a relationship with God, and His Holy Spirit comes to live in us. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, our relationship with God becomes more and more central to our everyday lives.

Jesus invites us to spend time reading His Word—and asking Him what He wants to say to us through it. He invites us to talk with Him throughout the day. To ask Him for guidance, for help in difficult situations, and for strength on hard days. To bring our worries to Him. To bring our joys to Him. And He invites us to rest in His deep, unconditional love for us. • Cara Campbell

• If you want to know more about entering a relationship with God through Jesus, see our "Know Jesus" page.

• Even after we’ve put our trust in Jesus by believing in His death and resurrection, sometimes we can fall into pursuing head knowledge about God while forgetting that we have a relationship with the God we’re learning about. We might also be hesitant or even resistant to interact with Him, and this happens throughout our lives for a variety of reasons. How would you describe your relationship with God lately? What do you want your relationship with Him to be like?

[Jesus said,] “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me.” John 10:14 (NLT)