OUR HOPE: Eternal Life

‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.’ Romans 6:23 (NIV)

Salvation brings many rewards.  Eternal life is just one of them.  The fact is, to receive eternal life in God’s holy Heaven, one must recognize Jesus Christ as the Son of God, as their savior from sin, and as their ultimate authority.  Without those three significant revelations, one cannot be considered saved.  Jesus has promised that if we seek Him we will find Him.  So the search must begin at some point in our lives, and with each truth of Who He is, the process of salvation begins to take shape and form, and becomes a force from which the seeker cannot willingly flee.  Thus, eternal life is received by the one who has sought the face of Jesus.  Sin is overcome in the new believer’s life, and one’s new Lord takes up residence within their heart.

‘Jesus said, I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.’  John 6:47 (NIV)

Jesus promises.  And what He promises, He will deliver.  The only thing we must do is believe.  But sometimes it’s hard to do so.  Even the most mature of Christians will find themselves doubting.  Is God even real?  Was Jesus the Son of God, or just a really good teacher, or a prophet?  But as scripture comes to mind, as well as our personal testimonies where God has shown Himself mighty and good, those doubting thoughts vanish quickly.  Sometimes we feel ashamed that we doubted.  But as Thomas did, so does all mankind, even after salvation.  The difference is the doubt a Christian experiences is fleeting, and can be caused by temporary circumstances.  We can lose faith because of the death of a loved one, especially if we prayed sincere prayers requesting healing.  We will either assume we prayed wrongly, or not enough, or our lack of eloquence failed to catch the attention of God.  Or we start to think there is no one there.  There is no Holy Spirit.  It’s all made up.  Thankfully, God wrote scriptures that make Him and His gift of salvation known to us.  We confess, and are in right relationship once again.  And we realize what we believe has always been true.  God has promised that if we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we will have eternal life.

‘God will redeem my life from the grave; He will surely take me to Himself.’ Psalm 49:15 (NIV)

Whether we arise from the grave with all the dead, or are changed in the blinking of an eye while we live, we will all be taken by Jesus to live in our Heavenly homes.  He has gone ahead to prepare our mansions.  And because He went to the cross, died for our sins, and rose again on the third day, our Day of Redemption is at hand.  God Himself planned this, our redemption.  He has redeemed us through the blood of Christ.  We are washed white as snow, new again, and our sinful natures can no longer rule our lives.  And because of this, our promise of life everlasting, and life spent in God’s presence, is found in Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, Our Hope.

Blessings!