09-05-19

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 5, 2019
Scripture: 1 John 2:25
This is the promise that he himself gave us: eternal life.

Thought for the Day: Many who read this simple verse are immediately transported in their minds to a heaven with angels and puffy clouds and golden streets. I’m not knocking that mental picture, but eternal life is not the life after this one. Eternal life, as I have often said, is eternal – having no ending and no beginning. We all have a beginning, so the eternal life is the life of God. When we connect, or as 1st John might suggests, abide in God and God in us, that life that knows no beginning or end dwells within us and we dwell in that life. Baptism is for me the point at which we claim this life, and the waters of baptism are a tomb for the old and an opportunity to rise into the new. John’s Gospel speaks of the abundant life, but it too has repercussions for this life. In fact, I believe faith allows us to live in the heavenly reality before we are ready to live in the heavenly reality. This way, we can be light and joy, peace and love in this life and for the sake of this world. We pray each week, “Thy Kingdom come…,” and that prayer implies our desire to participate in the life to come before it has fully made its appearance. Now please hear me – I am not tossing out an afterlife. If anything, I am expecting its beauty and power to be our life as we connect with the One who is eternal.

Prayer: I’m ready for the afterlife, Lord, and I really want to start living it long before my heart stops beating. Amen.

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