Knowing Jesus by Experience
Where following Jesus becomes a real, ongoing encounter.
The One Thing
Do you have a life verse?
I’ve had two over the years, and identifying them has helped anchor my faith and act as a compass for my spiritual journey. In college, I chose Philippians 4:6–7 because I was anxious about many things and needed a constant reminder that God is bigger than my worries.
Later, Philippians 3:10–12 became my compass, not because I’ve mastered it, but because I desire to desire the same one thing Paul expresses there:
“I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
Philippians 3:10–12
These verses have shaped how I pray, how I read Scripture, and how I notice grace working in everyday life. They remind me that spiritual maturity isn’t about reaching a finish line; it’s about the ongoing pursuit. It’s the daily rhythm of pressing on, an inclination towards Him, sometimes stumbling, sometimes standing still, but always coming back to the desire to know Him more deeply. I’m not writing as someone who has arrived, but as someone still on the journey. It’s the place where faith becomes real, where knowing Jesus moves from the head to the heart, and where experience starts to shape understanding.
A Faith You Can Experience
Most of us learn about Jesus before we ever really experience Him. We hear stories, memorize verses, go to church, and take in information. But at some point, a quiet longing grows inside us—a desire not just to know about Jesus, but to truly know Him. Paul understood this ache. He writes:
“I want to know Christ…” “…becoming like Him…”
Paul wasn’t talking about information. He was talking about experience.
The word Paul uses, gnōnai, means “to know by experience.” Not just theory. Not just abstraction. Not distant admiration.
Experience.
Paul didn’t just want to believe in Jesus. He wanted to meet Jesus and experience Him. He wanted Christ to be more than the subject of sermons, but the center of his daily life. For him, transformation wasn’t just an idea, but something happening inside him.
This is what The Path is about: learning Jesus by walking with Him.
Becoming Like Him: From the Inside Out
Paul uses another word, symmorphizomenos, which means “being conformed inwardly.”
Not behavior modification. Not external performance. Not spiritual achievement.
Inward transformation.
Paul is saying something amazing: We come to know Jesus by becoming like Him. And we become like Him by walking with Him—slowly, honestly, and continually.
This isn’t a one-time decision. It’s something we pursue for a lifetime.
Pressing On: The Journey That Never Ends
Paul is clear: he hasn’t arrived.
“Not that I have already obtained all this…” “…but I press on…”
Spiritual growth isn’t a finish line. It’s a direction.
It’s the daily, humble choice to keep moving toward Jesus—in your questions, your curiosity, your failures, your wonder, and your everyday moments. The Path is not about perfection. It’s about pursuit.
Practicing a Slow and Curious Faith
If you’re anything like me, the moments where Jesus becomes real rarely occur when we are rushed. They come when a verse lingers, when a question interrupts, when a phrase refuses to leave quietly.
This is why we slow down. This is why we read with curiosity. This is why we ask God for open eyes.
Scripture isn’t a flat landscape; it’s a rich terrain with mountains of meaning, valleys of mystery, and rivers of wisdom that grow deeper the longer you follow them.
The Path invites you to explore Jesus with patience, wonder, and expectation.
A Practice for the Path: One Word / One Phrase
Pick a short passage today. Read it slowly, maybe twice or even three times.
See if a word or phrase catches your heart. Underline it. Sit with it.
Then pray:
“Lord, why this word today?”
This is not a test. Just a simple invitation.
This is how we experience Jesus: one word, one phrase, one moment of curiosity at a time.
The Path Is Open
You don’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to be impressive. You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You need to be willing to walk.
Jesus is already on the path. And He delights in being known.
In His fields, Jon