A Brighter Life
John 6:41-51
What does eternal life mean to you?
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash
Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." They were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh." - John 6:41-51
It sounds like a trick question. Eternal life is eternal life, right?
This is the old heaven and hell problem we struggled with as children. If you are good, you go to heaven, and if you are bad, you go to hell.
Both are eternal life, though, right?
But Jesus makes it sound like there is only one way to live forever, and that is to follow him.
Yes, he also talks about the judgment time, when the goats and the sheep will be separated and that confuses the matter all over again. Is eternal life something we can claim now, since Jesus died for our sins, or de we have to do something to obtain it?
I can see why people are confused by Christianity.
Even those of us who were born into the faith have trouble sorting out the nuances of what it means to be saved.
If we believe Jesus died for us to save us from damnation, we should feel a responsibility to him for doing that. Thus, we follow him, do what he taught, love one another as ourselves.
Those who sit on the fringes of faith hear Jesus say that they have to believe to have eternal life, and they see that as a condition of salvation. While those who partake in the Holy Euchaist believe they are receiving the bread of life each time they go to Communion,
Which is saved?
Here is the dilemma in all of this confusion. If you go through life thinking you aren't included among those saved, you fail to enjoy this life fully.
Jesus said he came for the lost sheep, those who are on the fringes. So, wouldn't they be the ones he wants to save?
The rest of us are okay. We follow and believe, but those who doubt, like Thomas, should not feel left out. They are the ones he came for.
So, what harm is there in acting like you are saved?
There is an old expression, "Fake it 'til you make it" and it can apply here. Act like you are saved by Jesus and eventually, yo may find yourself believing it.
And once you believe, life gets brighter.
More to come...