Sometimes we break life up into workable compartments, like that’s my personal life or that’s my work life. Or you may suggest to me to get a life if I spent too much time by myself. But what is meant by “eternal life,” and how do we get the most out of it? That’s what I try to tackle in this blog post. I will start at the beginning of my life when I first learned about eternal life.
As a child attending Sunday school, I was told to memorize John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”) for the benefit of learning how to obtain eternal life. I came away with the assumption that eternal life was a quantitative description only. Recently, I was told that eternal life deals more with a quality of life to be lived, that we would obtain the standard of living equal to the quality of life God enjoys. As as a child, I figured that eternal life would be something I entered into in the future once I passed from this earth. But, now I am still discovering about how to obtain the “abundant life” right here and right now. When Jesus started His ministry on earth two thousand years ago, He proclaimed the good news. So what was Jesus’ message then? Matthew 4:17 tells us the message, from that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Being raised in an evangelical church, I find it odd that I had never been taught about the kingdom of heaven as the primary message preached by Jesus, but it could have been the case that I was not listening then. As I dive deeper into Jesus’ message, I realize that the kingdom of heaven means God’s kingdom advancing here on earth — right here, right now. I don’t have to wait to obtain God’s kingdom when I pass on from this earth. That’s the meaning of God’s kingdom is “at hand.” It is tangible and available at this very moment.
So eternal life starts when we repent, which means we have had a change of mind and heart on the matters that matter to God. Repentance is an attitude of putting God first in all we do — not in a legalistic way but in the way if Jesus were to live out our lives, how would we live life right now? And guess what, the way Jesus would live out my life may very well be look different than how Jesus would live out your life. We are not cookie cutters.
In the past couple of years, I have been reading the books by Dallas Willard and listening to his lectures on YouTube. Willard focuses on living in God’s kingdom right here and right now. As he explains it, I get the understanding that when I pass on from this earth, I seamlessly pass on from God’s kingdom on earth to God’s kingdom above and not miss a beat, meaning the abundant life obtained on this earth is an extension of the abundant life of God’s kingdom above. No doubt that the life above will be better because I will physically come face to face with my Creator for the first time, but the kingdom of God has always been in effect and will always be in effect.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
– John 10:10
This is one of my favorite verses from the Bible. In Jesus’ own words, He states the purpose of why He came to earth in human form. To bring humanity life and that we can have life more abundantly. But what is the definition of eternal life? The answer to that question can be found in John 17:3 that quotes Jesus’ very own words in a prayer to His Father, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
In this verse, Jesus states that eternal life is knowing the one true God and Jesus Christ, who was sent by God the Father. Jesus also proclaims that He is one with God the Father, and, if you know Jesus, then in return you know God the Father. What is not mentioned about eternal life in this verse is the quantitative aspect that this life will go on forever. I don’t think it will be boring or that we will be watching the clock for when it’s time to go.
In Ezekiel 34:30-31, Ezekiel describes what eternal life will be like, “And they shall know that I am the Lord their God with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Lord God. And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God.”
In the prophetic words of Ezekiel, the people of God will know God, and God will claim His people as their God. These verses were written approximately six hundred years before the human birth of Jesus on this earth. Yet the message to know God hasn’t changed but remains the same. Knowing God is not the same as knowing about God. To know God is to trust and rely that He has the best intentions and goodwill for your life. That’s where we get the term in John 10:10 of “abundant life.” Peace, love, joy, patience, faith, humility, mercy, and goodness is what Jesus offers in what’s called the “abundant life.”
But what is the first part of John 10:10 talking about? Is there really a thief out there to steal from you? I believe the thief is a real part of this world. Fear, worry, anger, lust, and death are all part of what the thief can bring into your life. So Jesus is comparing what He offers, which is life, and the opposition brings death. It could be said that knowing God can bring about an inward transformation whose source is from God, and that source is the love God brings to us.
Scripture states that perfect love casts out fear. So the more we trust in the goodness of God, the less fear and worry will consume and control our lives. When we pass from this earth, fear and worry will no longer be a part of the true believers’ lives. There will be no place for the thief to reside in our lives because we know God and will physically be with God, meaning the abundant life will never leave us.
The abundant life is available to all. God doesn’t exclude anyone from obtaining it. The question is, “Do you really desire to obtain this kind of life, and also have you counted the cost you will pay to obtain it?”
Have you found the life you’re looking for? If not, inquire of the Lord God Almighty, the one True God, to show you the way.. The message still rings clear as it did those two thousand years ago, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
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