COREdevotional by COREteam member Nikita Quartey Of all the ultimate gifts that God could have chosen to give to us, why eternal life? Why would He give up His mortal life (and resurrect) for us so that we can life forever? What Im saying is, what is so important about us living forever? John 17 v 3 AMP says And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with, and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), Whom You have sent. This means that the true meaning of eternal life is the true knowledge of God. The reason why Gods gift to us had to be eternal life is because He is so great that its going to take the whole of eternity to fully know Him. We call Him the Alpha and Omega (beginning and the end), and He is that because He was there and will be there both times but He is so much more than that in that He was there before the beginning and will be there till after the end - He is everlasting. Another example - we call Him Father but Hes so much more and so much deeper than a Father, so much greater than the capacity that a father has - He is God over everything that ever existed and even did not exist, but we call Him these things to help our minds understand who He is. When Moses asked God what His Name was and what to call Him before the Israelites, He said I AM WHO I AM and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you! (Exodus 3:14 AMP). Its not that God was being rude or sarcastic, but He was literally not putting Himself in a box, and declaring all He is without declaring one thing so that He would not be confined to that. But then there are different instances in the Bible where God does name Himself by a particular Name in order to apply Himself to the situation in the peoples minds. Back to eternal life ... God tells us in Jeremiah 31 v 3 Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you. Also, the closest New Testament equivalent for the word loving-kindness in the Old Testament is grace. So God is saying that He has loved you for as long as He has existed and in the capacity to which He has existed (everlasting, totally limitless, unlimited depths) and therefore BY HIS GRACE He has drawn you to Him (bridged the gap between God and man through Jesus) and continued His faithfulness to you. By His grace Hes drawn you near and given you everlasting life so you can truly know who He is and so that you can drink of His unending love. The minute you accepted (in your heart, not empty words) Jesus as your Lord and saviour, this journey began. So eternity does not begin after death but it invades your mortal life and begins now as you step into and grow in the knowledge of God. And so the love story continues in life and in death and in resurrection or rapture. Isnt it amazing that all He as ever sought is a relationship and intimacy and understanding with you?
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 14:23:19 +0000
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