Living Life: Knowing Jesus Christ—The Chosen & Bible Videos

As I have lived my life, decade upon decade, I have continually been reminded that the true purpose of life is captured in this simple scripture:

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

— John 17:3

If we want to really know Jesus Christ, we must study His life. When we study and ponder His life, we begin the process of becoming like Him. It becomes easier to love, forgive, and serve others as He did. Through reading (or listening to) the scriptures, good books, other articles about Him, and also viewing Jesus through the modern technology of film, we can see how He might have walked with, talked to, and served the people who were around him.

The Chosen

Through creative interpretation, there is a television series called, The Chosen, which brings to life the many characters in the New Testament who came to know and testify that Jesus was the Christ and promised Messiah. 

All eight Episodes of Series 1 were so spiritually uplifting that I had to watch them one after another. However, Episode 1 was at first difficult for me to get through because of some violence. After it was explained to me that these scenes were portraying the difficult circumstances these people were living in at the time of Christ, I understood it better. I hope you will watch The Chosen. It was life changing for me and increased my faith in the reality and power of Jesus Christ.

Bible Videos: The Life of Jesus Christ 

I also love the Bible Videos, which were produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The text for these videos comes completely from the scriptures as recorded in the New Testament of the King James Version in the Bible. When I watched each of these 104 videos, it helped me to come to know Jesus on a whole new level. It also helped me to understand the scriptures better as it took away the confusion I sometimes felt when reading the scriptures on my own.

I began watching the Bible Videos during a four-hour layover in an airport. I sat and cried while I watched these videos one after another as the Spirit testified to me that Jesus Christ was truly the Son of God and Savior of the world.

I learned so much from reading the following article entitled, “To Know God” by Howard W. Hunter. He describes the time and effort we need to put in if we truly want to know our Savior. I am trying to better implement his words of wisdom. These are a few excerpts from his article:

To Know God

When Jesus spoke to the multitude gathered on the Mount, he said to them:“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matt. 7:7–8)

This seems to be an admonition to search with determination and make earnest inquiry for truth. It is as applicable to religion as it is to science—the process is the same in either case. The search may require a lifetime to examine the necessary materials, discard that which proves to be false, and isolate the truth when it is found.

As important as scientific research may be, the greatest quest is a search for God—to determine his reality, his personal attributes, and to secure a knowledge of the gospel of his Son Jesus Christ. It is not easy to find a perfect understanding of God. The search requires persistent effort, and there are some who never move themselves to pursue this knowledge. In place of making the struggle and effort to understand, they follow the opposite course, which requires no effort, and deny his existence. …

To those who desire understanding, the words of James explain how it may be obtained: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5.) It doesn’t appear that James was referring to factual knowledge in the sense of science, but rather to the revelation that comes from on high which answers men’s questions as the result of following this admonition to pray. …

Thus we have the formula for the search for God and the tools to accomplish the quest—faith, love, and prayer. Science has done marvelous things for man, but it cannot accomplish the things he must do for himself, the greatest of which is to find the reality of God. The task is not easy; the labor is not light. …

I bear this witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, our Savior and Redeemer by reason of his atoning sacrifice to give life everlasting to all men. May the Lord bless us with the desire for an upward reach to the spiritual—to know God, to find him, and to have the determination to serve him and keep his commandments.