“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Matthew 25:46

No matter what, we are going to exist forever. But Biblically, this eternal ‘existing’ is not synonymous with eternal life… eternal life is conditional…

• “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” Matthew 19:16
• “… everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for My sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19:29
• “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
• “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life…” John 3:36
• “… whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life…” John 5:24

Eternal existence… that which we all get… or eternal life… that which is only available through Jesus (John 17:2). What is eternal life, then?? Jesus defines it for us:

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” John 17:3

It’s all about the knowledge of God… that which I so desire… so I am pretty excited about eternal life  because oh how I long for the knowledge of God… understanding that fuels my heart to love Him still more and more. And I figure that since God is infinite it would take eternity to search Him out… so that’s how long I want to have to do just that… and that’s exactly how long He gives me… *happy sigh*

Eternal life is to spend eternity growing in the knowledge of God and LOVING every moment of it… with the alternative being eternal torment in the presence of God (Revelation 14:10). Close… yet so far away… forever subject to His wrath. Eternal torment in the presence of the One who died to atone for our sins that we could instead experience eternal joy in His presence (Psalm 16:11). Either way we are going to exist forever in His presence… but it’ll either be eternal life or eternal torment… I want eternal life.

And even though I am fully deserving of eternal torment… Jesus was pierced for my transgressions, crushed for my iniquities… and the punishment that reconciled me to God was upon Him (Isaiah 53:5). When I was His enemy (Romans 5:10)… dead in my sin (Ephesians 2:1)… Jesus died that I could be with Him forever. I was dead in sin… but now I am dead to sin (Romans 6:2)… because He loves me… and so I love Him… because He loved me first (1 John 4:19)… and now I get to be with Him forever.

*happy sigh*