We are not waiting on someday.

(photo credit: shadesvalley.org)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, New International Version)

There may not be a more familiar or more often memorized verse in the entire Bible. What a comfort to know that God loved us so much that He sent Jesus to die for us. And if we trust Him (that's what "believe" means), we will one day be with Him in heaven.

But, wait! Do you realize that verse is not talking about heaven someday. In fact, it is not talking about heaven at all.

Check out these words of Jesus in John 17:1-3: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE: THAT THEY KNOW YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." (Emphasis mine)

Eternal life is knowing God! If we have trusted Jesus for salvation, we are not waiting on someday. We have eternity's life right now. Heaven will simply be a glorious and fulfilled continuation of our life in God. Our challenge is to live with that perspective in this broken world.

Question: How might our lives be different if we lived as if we are already experiencing eternal life?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your perspective.

How can I get to God?

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"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit." (1 Peter 3:18, New American Standard Bible)

We are just a few days from Easter, to which we sometimes refer as Resurrection Sunday. It is a time when we celebrate the unique foundational message of the Christian faith: Jesus, God in the flesh, died to pay the penalty for the sins of the entire human race, and on the third day, conquered death through resurrection. Many have died for causes. Many have died for others. Only One has died for all and come back to life to prove that He was who He said He was.

I had an "Aha" this morning in reflecting on this passage and John 14:6: "Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."

Did you notice that neither of these passages say that Jesus will take us to heaven? Look again: "so that He might bring us to God" ... "no one comes to the Father but through me". These verses say that Jesus will take us to God! Of course, heaven is a part of that, but it is not the ultimate goal. The ultimate goal is relationship and fellowship with God.

When we become Christ-followers through trusting Him, we begin eternal life. Right here. Right now.

Question: Have you trusted Christ and begun your eternal journey with God?

If you have not, I'd love to visit with you. Message me and let's talk.

If so, what specific things can you think of that you can do to share your journey in following Christ with those who have not yet begun theirs?

Leave a comment below.  I'd love to hear your ideas.