Eternal Life

Be stillEastertide
May 15, 2015

Scripture Reading: 1 John 5:9-13

And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. –1 John 5:11-13

Bible commentators are not sure who wrote the three letters of John or even if the same person wrote all three. They do not necessarily believe that the apostle John was the author but these letters have certainly been influenced by the theology of the apostle John. So what is said about eternal life in today’s scripture above follows well these words from John 17:1-3:

 ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

I do not have a clue what happens after our physical deaths, but I take great solace in the idea that eternal life is tied to knowing God and Jesus Christ. I can grasp the understanding that it will truly take forever and forever to know God and that God’s sending Jesus Christ into the world enhances my knowing. I was privileged to have a mother who dedicated her life to knowing God. I claim to have been introduced to God in the womb as she read scriptures and prayed during her pregnancy. I have also observed the dedication of those who met God at some point later in life and have seen their gratitude and immersion into knowing God more because of the time spent in their life when they did not know God.

I think the important thing we are to remember is that eternity started the moment we met God. We are to live our lives as a reflection of that knowing in our love. When we do that, eternity will take care of itself.

Prayer: Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits Thou hast given me, for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly, day by day*. Amen.

*Prayer of Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 1253 see at http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bio/139.html

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.