June 8 - Eternity

June 8 – Eternity

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. (John 17:1-5)

What is eternal life?  This is eternal life: that we know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.

Eternal life begins now … not when we die, not when we make the transition between earth and heaven; but now.

I love reading paranormal novels in which one of the main characters will live forever (unless they’re murdered).  His (or her) love interest in then transformed so they can live together throughout eternity.

Ray Kurzweil is an incredibly brilliant man – an inventor of many things, one of which is an electronic keyboard that sampled and imitated multitudes of instruments and sounds.  In the last few years, he has put his mind to extending the life of humans.  He wants to live forever.  He believes he can find the fountain of youth through science. 

Eternity begins now. 

We struggle to do everything possible to maintain this physical life here on earth. Skin creams, dye jobs, exercise programs, botox, pills, machines that breathe for us in the end.  We don’t want to quit living.

In the long run, that all seems crazy since the transition from now to then is inevitable.

The good news is that eternity began for us the moment we acknowledged that God is the true God and Jesus Christ is His son.  That transition will come when it comes.  Life on earth is what we know now and life in heaven is what we will know then. 

Eternity has begun.