Living in the Sonshine!

Most of us like a good motivational speaker.  And a good motivational speaker will agree with my statement from last week:  your past does not determine your future—your present determines your future.

Of course, the motivational speaker will say that the decision you make today is the one that really matters because it can change the future.  Just because you were lazy or foolish or whatever in the past does not mean you have to continue that way.  Make a decision today to change your future, they say.

But that’s not what I am saying.  Because you have eternal life, your future is already in your present.  In Christ, you already own what God will give you in the future.  The “mansion on the hilltop,” if you like that image, is already yours.

So what?  If I am not living in the mansion now, in this world, then what difference does it make to know that it is already mine?  Well, it makes a lot of difference.

Living in eternal life is the difference between striving and resting.  Eternal life is the difference between wishing and thanking.  It is the difference between desire and assurance.  You don’t have to strive to measure up, to win the love of God, to deserve Heaven.  You don’t have to worry about what lies in store for you after you leave this world.  You don’t have to be content with wishes and hopes because you already live there.

We are, according to Ephesians 2:6, already seated with Christ in “the heavenly places.”  We are with Him forever.  No one can snatch us out of His hand.  The kingdom of God is already in us and we are already citizens of it.

Apart from the message of grace and the understanding of what we have received in Christ, many people struggle with assurance.  They fear the future and worry whether they are good enough for the judgment.  They long for the day this life will be over and they can enter into hope and promise.

But not you and me.  We know that eternal life means we are secure in Christ.  Because He has loved us, He has given us all things.  Heaven is ours—we will never die.  We do not fear the evil one and his lies, nor the eternal hell that is his.  We do not strive to earn what is already ours.

And, best of all, we are beginning to see glimpses of eternity today.  The Son is shining through!

Tomorrow is Today

What is the difference between someone who is mature in the faith and someone who has just opened his heart to Jesus?  When the church teaches about leaders and elders and pastors, is there any substantive difference between those positions and that of a new believer?  Is the 90-year-old believer who has been in Christ for 85 years any different than the five-year-old who has just asked Jesus to take his life?

We want to point out the differences, don’t we?  After all, there are mature believers and immature believers and that means something.  But all it means is that some have had the time or the inclination to receive more of what Christ has already given them.  In other words, all of Christ is available to anyone in Christ.  Nationality, gender, age—these things make no difference in the spiritual nature of the individual.

I have always enjoyed the teaching of Major Ian Thomas.  He said it like this: the Christian life is the process of becoming who you are.  Yes, there is growth, but it is growth in understanding the riches in Christ that are already yours.  All that you will ever have is yours today in Jesus.

Why?  Because you have entered into eternal life.  The life that will be yours in the future is yours today.  There is much that you and I don’t understand and we will learn much more, but nothing will really change for us.  Even when we die, the only change will be that we will become even more of what we already are.

Eternal life brings the past into the present and redeems us as whole people.  Eternal life also brings the future into the present and sanctifies us in Christ forever.  We belong to Jesus just as much today as we ever will.  Our sins are washed away and we are whole.

When you think of your life in Heaven, don’t you think of it as a relief, a rest from the labors and frustrations of today?  Haven’t we been taught that life in Heaven will be good, while this life is evil?  But what if that was not true?  What if this life, the life we have in Christ, is just as good as life in Heaven will be?  What if the victory over sin that we long for and expect in Heaven is already ours in Jesus?  What if the reconciliation and peace we look toward is already available to us today?  This is what eternal life means.

All that you look forward to is already yours.  The more you look to Jesus and away from the struggles and distractions of this world, the more you will understand that peace He has already given.  The struggles and distractions are the things that will no longer be in the life to come because they are inconsistent with who He is and who you are.

The joy of the Christian life is already ours.  The forgiveness, the reconciliation, the acceptance, the love—these are all ours now.  We just have to begin to understand who we are and what Jesus has done for us.  He has given us eternal life.

It’s All Good

We have learned all our lives to think of time according to the simple formula of “past, present, future.”  I suppose we really have no choice, since that’s pretty much how we experience life.  But when someone tells us about eternal life, we then assume it somehow fits into our basic formula.

Last week I wrote about the past and how the past, even those sins and mistakes we did, have been redeemed by the present in Jesus.  Because of Him, we live in the present—always.  Just like He does.

Remember the name God gave Moses?  I AM!  Not: I was and I will be.  Just: I Am.  In the present.  Right now.  Right here.

He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph—not was.  And Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I Am.”  When you and I received eternal life, this is the life we received—life in the present.  We do not live in the past.  The things of our past are part of us in the present—redeemed, forgiven, loved.

We often wonder how God can see everything and know everything at once.  I have had people deny the full deity of Jesus because they didn’t believe that He could be everywhere at once.  But all of that misses the point.  God is present.  Wherever you are, He is there.  And He is here.  He is with all of His people at the same time—in the present.  It doesn’t matter if they lived 2000 years ago, or they live in some far away land, or they haven’t yet been born.  He is with them.  That’s His promise.  And He can do it in His eternal present.

The ramifications of this are nothing less than astounding.  It means that there is no time in my life when I was without Him.  Once I entered into eternal life (or eternal life entered into me) my past, present and future became a single point, the present.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I am not one of those who think that all people are already saved.  I believe that personal faith is a choice and is necessary.  But when you and I came to Jesus, we were saved “to the uttermost,” from beginning to end.

So I never have to deal with my past again, in terms of spiritual repentance or compensation.  And whatever consequences continue with me today, even the simple memories, are part of who I am in Christ and it is all good.

Now here’s a thought to chew on:  Your past does not determine your future.  Your present determines your future.

Life in the Present

Instant replay.  Some say it is the downfall of football.  Giving the fans the opportunity to review, over and over, a play and judge the calls of the officials has certainly changed some of the flavor of the game.  What was an attempt by broadcasters to energize and involve the fans was the beginning of a whole new way of life for those fortunate enough to live in such advanced times.  Today we can replay many of the events of our lives, sometimes events we would love to forget.  The criminal thought he had committed the perfect crime until he saw himself on the television news in the act.  The actions of teens that would have simply been remembered by the ones who were there are now immortalized in the minds of a world through Facebook and YouTube.  We can’t seem to escape our past.

Of course some of us don’t need videos to remind us of the stupid or sinful things we have done.  We remember plenty.  We remember too much.  In fact, because we remember, we find it hard to think of those things as separate from us in any way.  We allow those dumb things to define us.  We say things like: “I am a —,” based on what we have done.  Or: “I always —,” because we remember doing something foolish.

Now, most of us have been taught that we should not let our failures define us.  We know that our sins are forgiven.  But we still look back on those things with regret and fear and shame.  Because we can remember what we did, we find it hard to think of ourselves as separate from what we did.  So what if I could show you that the things of your past have been redeemed in your relationship with Jesus?

Because you have eternal life, you live forever in the present—in relationship with Jesus.  That means that the mistakes and sins of your past have been more than wiped away.  They have been incorporated into the wonder and joy of your present.

Now, so that you don’t think I have gone too far off the deep end, here’s what I mean.  Those evil things you and I did in our past are no longer on our accounts as sins held against us.  We know that.  But, beyond that, those evil things have themselves been used in your life, and apparently in the lives of others, to accomplish the purpose of God.  Nothing you did was a surprise to Him.  When you came to Him, those things were in the package you brought.  Not only did He wash you clean from guilt and shame, He also used those things as part of the building process of your life.

Don’t get me wrong.  Those things were sins and they were evil.  But notice Joseph’s understanding:

 

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Genesis 50:20

 

And God tells Isaiah that the sins, though stained as deeply by evil as possible, will be washed and purified.

 

 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18

 

And here is the promise for you and me:

 

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

All things?  Even those awful things I have done, those things I regret so deeply?  Yes, even those things!  All things have been brought into your present, washed and made useable for your good.  Under the blood, in your relationship with Jesus, even those things have worked good for you.

Now, I realize this may be a difficult teaching to swallow.  We have been taught to hate our sins and think of them as the reason Jesus went to the cross.  We have been made to feel terrible whenever we think about what we did, no matter how long ago.  But the truth is that we are not to live in the past.  We live in the present and, if we are truthful, those evil things that weighed on our hearts contributed to our need for a Savior.

A wise friend reminded me one day that people who fail need a Savior, so I should never be ashamed of the fact that I failed.  In the same way, people who sinned needed a Savior and—Praise the Lord!—a Savior was sent for us.

I never want to do those things again, but I also no longer will live there.  My life is in the eternity of Jesus, full and free because of His love.

Your thoughts?

Your Eternal Life

Let’s think about what it would mean to be eternal.  It isn’t the same as immortal.  Those who live forever forward from a certain point in time are said to be immortal.  That means they will never die.  We, because of Jesus, are immortal.  But there is more than immortality in us.

To be eternal is to be outside of time, no beginning and no end.  It is to be separate from creation altogether, different.  To be eternal is to be God.  The angels are not eternal.  The evil one is not eternal.  Only God is eternal.  There never was a time when the Lord was not and there never will be a time when the Lord will not be.  He is.  That’s what He told Moses that day at the burning bush.  He is the One who is.

To be eternal is to live in the present always.  God sees the past and the future and He is there.  He is with Abraham and He is at the end of this world.  He is with us whenever we are.

This is the life that is in you and me.  Eternal life, the life of Jesus, is our life.  The energy and purpose and essence that flows in us is this eternal life.  And we are locked in the present with Jesus forever.

Now here’s the exciting part: this means that everything from your past is cleansed by your present and healed for your future.  The sins of past, present and future are already forgiven and already washed away.  Whatever was promised is already yours and whatever was broken has been restored.

The joy of eternal life is not something we have to wait for, it is something we have.  Eternal life does not begin when we die.  Eternal life began in the presence of Jesus.  There is something wonderful here, something that cleanses and restores and frees.

More…..

Life in Jesus

Romans 6:23 says that the gift of God is eternal life.  If you want to think that eternal life only means living forever, I suppose that’s a verse you could pull out for support.  However, read the verse carefully:

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

The life you and I have received through the gift of God is the life that is “in” Jesus.  I take that to mean it is His life.  Galatians 2:20 and Colossians 3:4 tell us that the life in us is His:

 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:4

It is Jesus who is alive in me and Christ is my life.  My eternal life!  I have no life apart from Him and in Him I have His life.

So, when I came to Jesus, simply to receive what He offered me, I received His life.  I received Him.  Because He is eternal, the life in me is eternal.

But, what does it mean that He is eternal?

Not Just Living Forever

The first thing we need to understand and remember is that the gift of God is not the ability to live forever.  In fact, by almost any definition of living most people would give, even those who go to hell will live forever.  So the Christian message becomes, “Come to Jesus so you can live forever in happiness or you will go to hell and live forever in torment.”  (Of course, this is just what some are teaching.)  Notice that the good news is about the quality, rather than the extent, of living.

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”  Matthew 25:46

 

Now, before anyone writes, I know that the Scripture often puts eternal life in connection with the future, particularly the afterlife.  So I want to be sure to acknowledge that sense of the term, but there is so much more.  When Jesus spoke with the woman at the well, she was puzzled that He spoke to her.  He had asked her for water.  But Jesus used her question to make a point.

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” John 4:10

 

The gift of God must be something more than living forever, right?  In fact, it seems to be directly related to the person of Jesus.  This isn’t the only verse, in fact it gets better.

…the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.   1 John 1:2-3

 

The eternal life “which was with the Father and was manifested to us.”  What was that?  How could the disciples see living forever?  They didn’t—they saw Jesus!  Jesus is the eternal life that was with the Father and came to us.  Eternal life is a person.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:20

 

“This is the true God and eternal life.”  Eternal life is a person!  Jesus is our eternal life.

Chew on that for a while…

What does it mean to have eternal life?

If you ask ten people on the street what eternal life is, they would probably all answer something along the lines of living forever.  If you ask ten people at church, they might add that this is what you get when you pray to accept Jesus.  But when the Bible talks about eternal life it means something far more than just living forever.

There is a different perspective.  For many people life just isn’t good enough to consider extending it for eternity.  The only hope for them is to have a substantially different life.  They don’t look forward so much to living forever, but to living in privilege.  Streets of gold, mansions, the wonders and beauties of Heaven are promises toward which many people look.  In fact, if you were to ask church people to describe Heaven, many of them would tell about something much like this life, only a lot better.  Heaven is where you get all the ice cream you want.  Heaven is where bad things are not allowed.  Heaven is only for good people.  If eternal life doesn’t offer something better than this life, some wouldn’t want it.

But we may be misunderstanding the whole idea of eternal life.  I think we would all agree that things would have to get a lot better in order for us to choose to live this life forever.  But let’s say that it does get better.  Let’s say that in Heaven you and I will get everything we want.  Would that really be Heaven?  Is there life in getting everything I want?  Or does real life require some striving?  Is success real and valued when it comes all the time?  And could any of us be trusted if we got everything we want?  Wouldn’t that kind of life be a narcissistic dream?

No, eternal life is something more.  I think we cheat ourselves and misrepresent the Lord and His gift when we think of eternal life only in a future and glorious sense.  The Heaven we were taught about may be true in many regards, but it is not the whole story.

Over the next week, I will be sharing some thoughts about eternal life.  You may find them challenging, but if you understand, I think you will find them to be very encouraging—even “life” changing!