Aarinola
This is a word that has gotten me confused for a long while. I used to think it means “life after death.” That is the life we will be living after one is dead until I checked the definition of eternal. Eternal is defined as lasting forever, always existing, endless, ceaseless, enduring forever. This then means that Eternal Life is a life that lives forever, that last forever, a life with no end. This reminds me of only one person, that is God, who lives forever. So, having eternal life is having a life that lives forever like God.
Irrespective of who we are or what we worship or believe, we are made of 3 parts – the body, the soul, and the spirit. We understand that the spirit lives forever because it is made like God. Thus, we all have life without an end. We have a life that lives forever, life with no end. However, because of sin and evil, two lives now exist: the life with God and life without God (alienated from God). A life with God is called Eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent[i].
Eternal life is knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent. Eternal life is in Jesus only. We have eternal life when we have Jesus. This is what God told us: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son[ii]. God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus[iii]. So, Eternal life can only be found in Jesus.
Having eternal life is necessary and important for every human being because we have within our body a life that lives forever, and this life can either be the life that lives forever like God and with God or the life that is estranged, separated, and alienated from God forever. The second one sounds terrible and gloomy. If one is going to live forever, it might as well like with God forever. Living without God forever will be a life of darkness and suffering forever without an end.
How does one get this eternal life? Eternal life is a gift from God, it is only God that gives it, and we can receive this gift by
- Believing in the name of Jesus. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him[iv].
- Confess Jesus with our mouth, not think it in our mouth. If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved[v].
The above might look like a step to deliver the Eternal life, but it is powerful and effective to birth the life of God in us. For Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.” It’s the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. “Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.” [vi]
If you are ready to have the eternal life, you can simply say this prayer out of your mouth: “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen!”
If you said this prayer out of your mouth, I rejoice with you, God and His angels are rejoicing over you too because now you are a member of the household of God. Welcome to the Family of God. Get a good bible to read and know more about God and look for other like-minded friends to fellowship with.
Keep winning!
[i] John 17:3
[ii] 1 John 5:11
[iii] Romans 6:23
[iv] John 3:18 (Message)
[v] Romans 10:9
[vi] Romans 10:11-13
