As John brings his letter to a close, he says, “My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God’s Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion.”
He doesn’t want you living in an illusion, thinking you have eternal life when you really don’t. And if you do have it, he wants you to experience the full reality of eternal life. Which begs the question…
What, then, is eternal life? I think there are a lot of misconceptions here, so let’s go out with a bang, shall we?!
Eternal: what a word! So much to unpack here, but I’ll keep it brief. Eternal can mean lasting or existing forever which is what most people think of when they consider this word. But it can also mean without beginning and without end. Timeless. Like being lost in the moment. Eternal can also mean unchanging. Valid and consistent. For all time, in all places.
So eternal life can be experienced in this life, in time and space, on this earth, and it may even exist beyond death, in a realm beyond what we can comprehend.
It would be a shame if we thought we were meant to life in misery this entire life just so we can enjoy a life after we die. We can enjoy this life, on this earth, right now. Full and abundant in our souls.
As John says, “This Jesus is both True God and Real Life.”
And with that, we’ll wrap 1 John and start a new book next week.
Omer Redden 