YOLO

What is eternal life?  What does it look like?  It obviously doesn’t end, but when does it begin?  The most obvious answer that comes to mind immediately is that it is spending the forever-future with God in heaven.

All Christians believe (or at least should) that the answer to those questions are in the Bible, but is it ever dealt with directly and clearly or are we left to piece it together from clues in different places?  Thankfully we are told directly what eternal life is.  The answer is found in John 17:3.  Just to review, John is the author of the book, not the star/hero/focus of it - that would be Jesus.  If you have a fancy, gold-edged, don’t-take-that-on-your-camping-trip version of the bible, then every word of John 17:3 is in red, meaning that Jesus aka God is saying it (so good luck telling me I am wrong later):

“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”

No streets of gold, nothing about after you die ­­­____ will happen and nothing about singing with the angels.  Does that mean there won’t be any of that? No, Jesus has told us he is going to prepare us a place, but that is not the eternal life that is given to us.

Let’s have a quick English lesson:  if you knew something it happened in the past, if you will now someone that occurs in the future, and to know something is happening right now.  By those rules of grammar, our eternal life is happening right now!  When you have accepted Jesus your eternal life begins at that moment!  It is still happening now… and now… and now.

Now think of a friend that you know.  What does it take to get to the point that you know them as well as you do?  Do you spend time together?  Why do you spend that time together?  Not because you have to, that’s for sure!  It’s because you care about them and want to spend that time together.  What happens if you try to make plans to spend that time together but it just doesn’t work out that day?  Do you just send them a unhappy emoji and wait for a few months before you feel really guilty and cry at their door begging forgiveness?  Absolutely not!  You just try again the next day, and the next day.

Why do we act one way with all of the people we know as our friends but treat God completely different? We know them by loving them, caring about them, spending time with them because we care and love them, and we try or (brace yourself) work on that relationship.  But when it comes to knowing God and Jesus, which is what eternal life is according to Jesus, we act the exact opposite.  Whose idea was friendship anyway?  How have you been caring, trying, and spending time with Jesus? 

Are you living out your eternal life right now?  Remember, if your eternal life is happening right now, #YOLO takes on an all new meaning.