MBC Tysons Campus Blog

What if you received news yesterday that you inherited $10 million from an uncle you never knew existed?! Then, today you went to the lawyer’s office to seal the deal, and he says at the end, “Oh, one more thing, you can collect this when you die.” You would sit there in shock, thinking that this had to be the cruelest good news, bad news joke ever conceived. But, what if you encountered the same scenario with a different item? For instance, you hear that you have received from God a gift of eternal life, and that you can cash in on it only when you die. Would you be in the same state of shock?

When people think of the benefits of eternal life, it’s probably in the future. We naturally think that eternal life picks up when earthly life gives up. At that point, we’ll be plugged into a different life source – one that doesn’t need a beating heart – and we’ll just keep on living forever. The problem with thinking this way is that it’s not altogether true. If your future life in heaven doesn’t have much to do with the life you live on earth, then the critics are right: All we can offer anyone is pie in the sky in the sweet by and by.

What is eternal life like?
The Bible has two life-sized portraits of never-ending life as it is found in a place. One is a garden, the other is a city. So, what was life like in the Garden of Eden, and what will life be like in the New Jerusalem? An easy answer is to look at what life is like now on planet earth, and just think the opposite. Here, fear, worry, anger, and pride are among the many negative qualities that breed self-centeredness, diminish people, and end in fights and feuds. Not so in the Garden where history’s first created couple were intended to live forever. Conflict was unheard of. And so it will be again, in the New Jerusalem, where even the corrosive elements of time and the human experience of tears will both be non-existent. Harmony and joy are as normal to those places as gravity and the rising sun are to life on earth now.

Is living eternal life now even possible?
If you’re perfect, it is. Imagine being James, growing up with his half-brother Jesus. Everything Jesus said and did was as a regular human being who was living a super-natural life. He was flawless. That’s why his portrait is called The Second Adam. The first Adam was supposed to live this way, but didn’t, causing worldwide havoc.

I know what you’re thinking. “Right, that was Jesus. We’re talking about me.” Let me ask you a question, “If you could go to the store and buy a ‘spiritual steroid perfect pill’, guaranteed to help you get that way in a regimented program with a personal trainer, would you?” Many would. Here’s the amazing deal: when Jesus said that he was the embodiment of truth about life and the way to God’s life, he made his life – the very life of God – available to anyone who would receive it. They are born again to a new life never before imagined.

Spiritual rebirth means that Jesus Christ comes to live in you. The Holy Spirit (the ultimate, ever-present, on-call personal trainer) teaches and empowers you to live the life of Jesus within you. God’s Word is your guide for what is right and good. The Lord’s children are a community of holy friends who pray with you and encourage you to live eternal life now.

Living eternal life is far better than $10 million. Don’t wait until you die to really live.

(To read Biblical teachings supporting this blog, see:  Genesis 1-2, John 14:6, Romans 4-8, 21-22)