Now and Then

“For God so loved the word that He gave

His only begotten Son, that whoever

believes in Him should not perish but have

everlasting life.” 

     John 3:16 (NKJV)

“He who believes in the Son has everlasting

life; and he who does not believe the Son

shall not see life, but the wrath of God

abides on him.”

     John 3:36 (NKJV)

This virus seems to have highlighted people's natural fear of death.  As believers, we don’t look forward to death but we should not fear it because death is merely the portal to heaven.  We should live with our spiritual suitcases packed and ready because we know where we’re going when our earthly lives are finished.  It's important to be prepared every day for our last day, when we will stand before our Lord and give an account for how we lived. This should cause us to fear God but not fear death as long as we are in Christ, because we have the glorious promise of eternal life with Him.

God's word promises that whoever believes in the Lord Jesus “has” everlasting life.  Not that we “will have” eternal life but that we "have" it when we believe. If we’ve accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, then we are “partakers” of His divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Because Christ is eternal, we share in His eternal life when we become children of God through His salvation. From what I've read, this is a now and then reality—we experience the divine quality of eternal life now when our new life begins and we abide in Christ, and then we will possess the full manifestation of eternal life at our death.

Let's make sure we're prepared every day and live in light of the eternity we share now and will enjoy in the future with our great God.