Jesus said: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

To know Jesus requires that you open your heart to Him, recognizing that He is the Son of God and you are a mere human being who has made mistakes. John the Baptist said that Jesus was "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 3:29). John the Baptist was Jesus` cousin but he learned to know Jesus in a different way than just as a family member. He learned to know Jesus as the Son of God, the Lamb of God.

John the Baptist also spoke of repentance in the early chapters of the Gospel of John. Repentance means recognizing we have done wrong (have sinned) and turning from our sin to Jesus because only Jesus  can cleanse us of our wrongdoing. Only Jesus, the Lamb of God, takes away our sins.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 3, Jesus spoke to a religious man called Nicodemus who recognized Jesus was not an ordinary person but was, in fact, sent from God. Nicodemus was drawn to Jesus. You might say that Nicodemus wanted to know Jesus. Jesus answer to Nicodemus tells us how to know Him. He told him; "you must be born again" "Most certainly, I tell you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

Jesus then went on to explain what it means to be "born again". He related it to the simple experience of  believing through lifting Jesus up--recognizing who He is. Jesus said: " . . . so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:14).

Learn more of Nicodemus` story here.

But simply believing in Jesus will not allow you to know Him very deeply. Just as we experience different levels of relationships with friends, so it is with Jesus. We can know Him superficially or deeply. To know Him deeply, we need to know what He thinks and what He says. The thoughts of Jesus are found in His Word, the Bible.

In the Gospel of John chapter 1, it says that Jesus was the Word of God who was with God. That Word is recorded in the written pages of the Bible. Reading the Bible is a good place to begin getting to know Jesus. "The Word became flesh, and lived among us" (John 1:14).

Another place is through prayer. Prayer is simply talking to Jesus. As you talk to Jesus, and as listen to Him by reading His Word, the Bible, you will get to know Him more deeply--just as you would any other friend.

Finally, you can know Jesus more fully by hanging around people who also know Him.