Roslynn Bryant, author of The Three Keys to our Relationship with God shares on eternal life.
Many times, we have heard the phrase eternal life but what does it mean when death is so present in our world? We are familiar with death whether in our personal lives or in society but eternal life seems to be beyond us. John 17:3 states, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” The word eternal in this context means unending. Life in its simplest definition means connection. When a branch is connected to a tree, it is alive. The moment the branch is separated from the tree, it is dead. So, to have eternal life is to have an unending connection to God. The verse described eternal life as knowing God. This type of knowledge is more than intellectual but it means to know through relationship. Eternal life is to have an unending relationship with God.
Who can have eternal life? John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We see that eternal life is presented to the world. God offers to every race, nation, and people the gift of an unending relationship with Him. How do we receive eternal life? The Scripture says that whoever believes in the Son of God has eternal life. This means that whatever our economic status, previous religious upbringing, or social class may be, once we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we receive eternal life.
Let us look at the Greek definition of the word believe. The Greek word for believe is pisteuo. It means to accept absolutely, having no doubt or uncertainty, putting trust in, exercising faith in. All who put their absolute faith and trust in the Lord Jesus as Savior will not perish in their sins but will be reconciled to an unending relationship with God. When we die physically, our spirit is separated from our body but it will still exist. Yet, it is a matter of having eternal life or experiencing the second death. The second death is when our spirit resides in torment being separated from God forever while eternal life means being connected in a relationship with God forever. Why does God offer us eternal life? The answer is love. Romans 5:8 states, “God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” It was love that compelled God the Father to send His Son to be the Savior of the world. It was love that compelled the Lord Jesus to come, suffer, shed His blood, and die on the cross for our sins then rise again so that we could be forgiven of sin and reconciled to God. All who accept God’s gift of love will forever enjoy an unending relationship with God our Father, the Lord Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit our Comforter.
What is to be our response to receiving such a gift? We are to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength. God is to be first in our hearts as shown by our fellowship and commitment to Him. We are to praise and worship Him with words and songs of adoration and thanksgiving. We are to spend time with God in prayer and Bible study. In our life’s interactions, we are to choose our devotion to God above everything and everyone. Secondly, our soul involves our mind and will. We are to honor God with what we meditate on. Our thoughts are to be acceptable to Him. God gives us guidelines for our meditations in Philippians 4:8 so that our thought life will be pleasing to Him. Our will is made known by our decisions. Loving God with our will means that our decisions are in agreement with His Word and will for our lives. We are to no longer live according to our own will and desires but according to the will of God. Thirdly, to love God with all our strength means we honor and glorify Him with our talents, abilities, actions, and accomplishments. God is to be glorified through our good works.
The second response to our receiving eternal life is to proclaim God’s salvation to others. We are not to be ashamed of Christ our Savior. The Lord Jesus gave His all and best because He loves us. We are to show our love for Him by sharing the good news of eternal life. Our love for Christ should cause us to rise above our fear of what others may think about us or how they may respond to our witness. It should outweigh our desire to “fit in” with the crowd or to be “politically correct.” It should strengthen us to endure any persecution we may face because of our faith. Christ was not ashamed to become like us and die a humiliating death for He knew it meant our salvation. So, let us stand strong for Him and boldly declare as the Apostle Peter did in Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.” Let us share this with our family, friends, neighbors, and even those who oppose us. Let us encourage them all to receive God’s gift of eternal life.
Alex Writes 