Eternal Life
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Do you know what I want for you most of all? Eternal life. Not just in the future but now. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10). That’s what I want for you.
Most of the people I talk with, who have at least some interest in religion, say they hope for eternal life. So, what you want, what I want, and what I want for you might all be the same thing.
As we think about eternal life, two questions come to mind:
What is it?
How do we possess it?
What is eternal life?
Looking at John 17:3 above, the Greek words for eternal life are aiōnios zōē. Zōē means life, and aiōnios describes the quality of that life. We tend to think in terms of quantity: everlasting, never-ending, etc. But this word aiōnios isn’t so much forward-looking as it is backward-looking. It’s the kind of life that has always existed in relationship with God, that we can inherit, that we are invited into.
How do we possess eternal life?
Returning to John 17:3, we see that eternal life⏤this eternal kind of life⏤is connected with knowing God. It needs to be said here that knowing God is much more than knowing about him. This kind of knowing is relational and intimate. Many of us have grown up in a culture that reduces knowledge to information, facts, and data. We will need to work a bit harder to approach knowing as a growing relational connection. Here, I identify three repeating ‘acts’ to this way of knowing God. Each act is represented by a point on a triangle. A circle, then, will represent the process of coming to know.
Point 1. Exercise Faith | Point 2. Make a Pledge | Point 3. Present the Gift of Yourself
Faith → Pledge → Gift. Each trip around the triangle deepens our knowing.
Triange Point 1. Exercise Faith (Trust)
It’s helpful to see that as we take this first step of exercising faith, we bring some knowing with us. We don’t come as a blank slate. We already have some knowledge of God. Maybe we can articulate a bit of that knowledge. But much of it is embodied, inaccessible to our consciousness. God created us with a longing for him. It could be that this longing has been ignored or suppressed, but it’s part of the knowing package we have inherited from our Maker.
Faith is trust that’s able to take a step. By God’s grace, through faith, we can exercise confidence in God. We can test his trustworthiness. The process of coming to know God begins with faith. Maybe just a little faith. Maybe faith that is as small as a mustard seed.
Triangle Point 2. Make a Pledge (Covenant)
Right on the heels of placing our trust in God, we make a pledge. We covenant with him. Our pledge looks something like this: “Father, whatever you reveal of yourself and your ways, I commit (in advance) to adjust my life accordingly. You are the Potter. I am the clay.”
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We discover more of God on his terms and in his timing. We wait in God’s presence for him to reveal something of himself. Maybe he speaks in prayer, through scripture, his names, or by his creation. Maybe he shows himself in a sermon, a song, a conversation, a person’s kindness, or some other way.
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Triangle Point 3. Present the Gift of Yourself (Love, Self-denial, Sacrifice, Obedience, Surrender)
Love is the gift of the self. Having discovered something more of God, we now follow through on our pledge. God connects our love with our obedience⏤an offering of ourselves to the One who is worthy, who has perfect perspective, who loves us, and who promises to care for us.
Circle. Coming to Know
As we test God’s revelation to us, we find his ways are good and true. Our confidence in him grows by experience. We are coming to know him. We are ready to take another step of faith with him. This is the journey of an eternal kind of life. Around and around and around.
Trust. Pledge. Love. Know. These are all relational words. To know is to grow in intimacy. This is what we find in 1 John 1, where Jesus’ apostles invite us into fellowship with them and into their fellowship with the Father and the Son. Our knowing ventures unfold before our Father’s approving gaze. He delights in us and enjoys our companionship.
We might wonder what energizes this process of coming to know God and finding eternal life. It’s hope, an alloy of desire and expectation. Our hope of life with God drives the process of coming to know⏤and participation in this eternal kind of life.
I want to give special thanks to Esther Lightcap Meek for her instruction on the broader subject of how we know (epistemology).