Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. -1 John 5:12
Is today’s scripture speaking only of the promise of life in heaven with God once you leave life on this earth? That's a great promise for sure, but does this scripture have any other meaning?
God has given us the gift of eternal life, and this life is in His Son, Yeshua. If you have the Son, you have eternal life. If you do not have the Son of God, you are not acquainted with that kind of life. I am writing all of this to you who have entrusted your lives to the Son of God…so you will realize eternal life is already yours.
Paul told Timothy, “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Timothy 6:12). I don’t think Paul was encouraging a fellow believer to kill himself. In other words, start living the life God has given you now. He was telling him to live in a way that focused on matters of eternal importance, not only being concerned with short-term material needs of today: working, making money, eating, etc. Those things won’t be our focus then, so they shouldn’t be our focus now.
So, how do we start eternal life now? John is clear in his gospel: Knowing God is eternal life (John 17:3). Knowing has to do with being transformed into the image of Christ, having the Holy Spirit at work in us, absorbing the truth of God’s word, ordering our life around the things of God, seeking to see God at work in every situation…It’s an active, all-encompassing, total life surrender and make over.
Eternal life starts with living in God's righteous path centered in God's will, making it our highest priority to further God’s interests and Kingdom in every way by having eyes that see what Yeshua sees, hearts that respond like the heart of Yeshua, and hands that do what Yeshua would do. Then, what starts now finds its perfection in life eternal in the world to come.
This scripture is both a reminder of God's glorious Grace and also of our need to share that Grace with others. Life is such a precious gift; it would be a shame for anyone we know and love to miss out. God gave up the Life of His Son so that in finding Him, we too could share in His Life.
When you accepted Yeshua as Savior, the Holy Spirit came to live in your heart, giving your life greater meaning by a deep connection to God. His presence makes your life richer. Your relationship with Him gives you purpose and direction. Sure, your life before Yeshua may have been good because you enjoyed good friendships and a loving family. Even those relationships can now be deeper and richer with the shared experience of God's love in your lives here and now.
Life in the Son is better because of the focus and direction and love He gives you now. It will be better in the future because you will have life forever, with Him. Life with God is a double blessing!
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