Eternal Life is one of God’s great gifts to humanity. We find it in the way, truth, and life of Jesus Christ, which is the greatest revelation our Lord has given to us. Who is God, who are we, and how are we to respond to the One who made all of creation? What if we could know about the Lord our God and allow our lives to be shaped in a way that we lived in the will and goodness of the Lord?

In John 17:3, Jesus says: “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” As Christians, we talk a lot about Eternal Life, yet we often look forward to it in the future but knowing or unknowingly reject it as irrelevant to life today. Yet Jesus speaks as if it is something to be lived now. It’s not a name or phrase, but life itself.

In John chapter 3, we read that Jesus is the light that has come into the world. We also read about our desires to hide from the light. ¹⁹ “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For all who do evil hate the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may not be exposed. ²¹ But those who do what is true come to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in God.”

Following this analogy, I think humanity lives much of life in the darkness because we understand a dark world. Light often means vulnerability and we’re not always sure we can trust this light in our world. Soul-deep, light-infested knowledge of God leaves us with choices that don’t always seem as desirable as the life we already know and live. Sometimes light takes some adjusting too.

I’m thinking about one of the many times I’ve walked into a room that is pitch black, but the sun is shining brightly outside. At first, I could see nothing. Then as my eyes adjusted, I began to make out more of the room and the surrounding objects. In the adjustment, black went to an ever-lightening grey. There wasn’t anything new in the room, but I could see and understand more about the room in which I was surrounded. Eternal Life is the actual, God-made, reality in which we live. Are there times when we prefer darkness? Are there some parts of our life, when compared to what we see in the light of Christ that, we don’t really want to encounter? Eternal life is the best of all worlds. It is life with a God we know and trust. There is more to it than meets the eye. Please join us Sunday as we explore the eternal joy of living Easter.

May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

Pastor Rick