July Countdown: John 17:3 – A Verse Map

Originally posted on August 11, 2016, Post #4 in our Top 5 Posts of All Time was a look at one of my very favorite ways to more deeply engage with a verse of Scripture. If you haven’t tried your hand at Verse Mapping yet, I highly recommend it.

THE POST

I love summer!  It holds just a bit more time in its days for enjoying some of my favorite things…like Verse Mapping and reading.

This Verse Map of John 17:3 is a marriage of the two!

I am currently reading None Like Him.   This book was added to my ever growing “To Read” list after perusing Jaime Wiebel’s review of it some time ago.  To be honest with you, as big as my list is, books usually rest there  a-w-h-i-l-e  before I ever get to reading them.

Then… I discovered that this book was written by Jen Wilkin.  That fact moved it up a bit.  Then… I got to hear Jen speak at The Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference in June!  The book moved to the top.

Mid-summer while meditating on the unique attributes of God with my Bible, Jen’s book, and a journal at hand, I decided that these warm, lazy days were just the time to linger a little longer with my Lord.  No better way than to Verse Map some of the Scriptures included in None Like Him.

In Chapter 2, entitled “Incomprehensible,” Jen makes the point that God cannot ever be fully known, but He CAN be sufficiently known.  She continues on to make the statement, “Knowing God is the fundamental aim of life.”  The author supports her claim with John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Since reading that chapter, I have found myself returning to this Scripture and her statement over and over.   This is one of the things I pay attention to when choosing passages to Verse Map.  What does God keep drawing me to?

Here’s a closer look at my Map for John 17:3.

(For those who are not yet familiar with Verse Mapping, I’ll include a brief “How-To.”)

1. Write out your verse leaving plenty of white space around it.
2. Read over the verse thoughtfully. Look for words that seem to jump out at you.  If none jump out, simply choose some.
3. Look up definitions (for unknown words AND known words). In this Verse Map, I chose to look up “eternal” and “know.”
4. Locate synonyms. Here I selected “eternal,” “only,” and “true.”
5. Personalize the verse by crossing out personal pronouns and substituting your own name.
6. List other names of God that come to your mind.
7. Record your thoughts, reflections, and/or questions.
8. Locate cross-references.
9. Read the verse in multiple translations and record a couple. I wrote John 17:3 out from the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) and the Amplified Bible (AMP).
10. Write out a prayer to God thanking Him for what He has revealed to you through your time of meditation upon His Word.

Remember

• There are no rules to Verse Mapping.  Make the process fit you and the amount of time you have to devote to your Verse Map. (For instance, one day you may only have time to do one of the steps.  Another day you may have the luxury of engaging in three or four. Additionally, you may choose different steps on different occasions.)

• The Map itself is NOT the goal.

• The AIM is to KNOW GOD.  Engage with His Word.  Get to KNOW HIM.

Have you tried Verse Mapping?  I’d love to hear about your experience OR see your Maps.