What really is Eternal Life?

The phrase eternal life is used a significant number of times in the New Testament. For many people it is a motivator in following Jesus. But what exactly is eternal life? 

We tend to think of it in terms of a quantity of life - that it’s an existence that lasts forever once we cross over to the other side of this life. And it’s often framed as eternity in heaven which gets contrasted with an eternity in hell. 

If the choice is between heaven and hell, who wouldn’t choose heaven? 

But, the Bible talks about eternal life more in terms of a quality of life than a quantity of life. To say it another way, eternal life is a certain “type of life.” And it’s a life that we can access in the here and now before we die. 

But the question remains, what type of life is it?

Perhaps it could be described in this way.

Eternal Life is…

… about viewing salvation not as a get-out-of-hell-free card, but as a life-giving force that transforms you and moves through you for the sake of the world.

It’s about having an abundance mindset rather than a scarcity mindset.

It’s having the eyes to see that there is more than enough to go around; therefore, I can be generous with everything I have and bless my server with an extra-large tip.

It’s about finding joy in taking the lesser position so that I participate in lifting up someone else.

It’s about believing that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to you.

It’s about prioritizing creativity in the context of community over individualistic consumption.

It’s having a supernatural sense of self-confidence that comes not from your  performance but a deep-seated belief that God loves you regardless of what you’ve done.

It’s about having the ability to be patient and calm while driving your car even when someone cuts you off on the interstate.

It’s about getting more angry over injustice in the world rather than situations where your individual preferences aren’t met.

It’s a life overwhelmed by peace & contentment so that you don’t have to worry about keeping up with the Joneses.

It’s about being able to bless and celebrate the success of someone else without feeling threatened by it.

It’s about waking up each morning with a renewed sense of purpose that’s not wrapped up in your 9-5 job, but based on being a divine image-bearer of the King of Kings.

It’s a life that rests in the reality that everything is going to be okay no matter the hell you’re walking through because Jesus has been raised from the dead.

It’s a life that is marked by love.

I don’t know about you, but I certainly want that type of life. The question is how do we get it? 

Jesus said in John 17, “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent (v3).” 

It’s a life that’s centered on the person of Jesus. The more we order our lives around Him, His teachings, and His ways, the more our lives are conformed to the type of life He offers. 

So may you see that an “eternal kind of life” is available to you today, and may you find it in Jesus.