To say that we ‘know’ somebody implies a variety of relationships. The person might be somebody we occasionally meet, or a colleague, friend or family member. Even within families there are different levels or intensity of relationship. The closest should be between spouses, and between parents and children. But Jesus prayed to His Father in an astonishingly intimate way about His very close relationships with people who believed in Him. That closeness was contrasted with the distance of people in the world – people who had rejected Him and did not want to know Him.
 
The only way for the world to know God properly, is to get to know Jesus; because He is God who lived in a human body. The more anyone looks at the life of Jesus, it becomes obvious that He is God. The best that the disciples had understood was that Jesus had come from God. However, Jesus promised His Father to continue to make the world aware that love comes from God - and is best expressed in the cross of Christ. As people believe in Jesus so they will see how much the Father loves them: then the Father and Son will make their home with them (John 14:23). That is how closely we can know God.
 
It is not enough to simply know that God exists or to know the facts about Jesus’ life. God who already knows you intimately (Psalm 139:13-16 ) wants you to know how much He loves you. So do not be satisfied by dutiful religion: let Jesus get close to you. Even your friends and colleagues, who presently know little about Christ, will know more when you tell them ... and let Jesus speak through you (perhaps show them www.crosscheck.org.uk ). In that way you will be a part of the answer to Jesus’ prayer, and a real blessing to those around you.