Eternal Life

Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life.  So what I say, I say as the Father told me.” (John 12:44-50)

The Father’s commandment is eternal life?  What does that mean?  Former Episcopal Bishop of Newark, John Shelby Spong, gives us a clue.  He said in his book Eternal Life: A New Vision (2009): “…Every human limit, including the limit of death, faded in front of Jesus.  So he opens a door for me to walk into the final arena and to walk past the ultimate boundary.  I can see in him what I can be – a life at one with God, at one with myself and a part of eternity…I do, I can, and I will escape the barriers of both time and space…While I am alive, I will plumb life’s depths, scale life’s heights, and share my life and my love with those who are fellow pilgrims with me in my time and space.  When I die, I will rest my case in the “being” of which I am a part…I believe deeply that this life that I love so passionately is not all there is.  This life is not the end of life…”

Jesus is light.  We believe in him and hold onto him.  Therefore, he is our eternal light who will prevent us from remaining in darkness.  When death comes, we need not fear it.  We will be in light and discover eternal life having escaped the barriers of time and space.

Deacon David Pierce