I suppose every Christian, at some point, speculates about "eternal life." We ask ourselves, "How will I spend eternity?" Will it be more of the same? Just life without the threat of death? Or qualitatively different? Will we remember our past lives? What future will be expect when we have outrun the present moment? Will we have to study foreign languages to understand one another, or will we "just know" what others are saying?
At some point these speculative questions almost undermine our belief that the human being is capable of such extraordinary existence. And yet we cannot surrender the promise. It makes sense, somehow. There should be an eternal life for most, if not all, people because.... Well, just because!
Most books of the Bible assume there will be a life after death. It's just impossible that the Eternal God who has loved us from birth to death and death to life is willing to get along without us when our natural lives end.
Miguel de Unamuno expects we will find endless delight in learning. He points to our present thrill of discovery, and how our excitement fades with the passage of time. We may expect to find endless delight in the view from a mountain chalet or a seaside cottage, but neither lasts very long. Like Tennyson's Ulysses, we're soon off in search of other adventure and other knowledge.
But can perpetual learning satisfy the human heart? Mystics speak of three dimensional learning. First there is the horizontal plane of two dimensions (length and breadth) with its unbounded frontiers. How many sciences might we learn, and languages might we study, and musical instruments might we master, and skills might we perfect and people might we meet and never come to the end?
The third dimension is depth, which leads to wisdom. In the Deep, the words we learned on the plane of knowledge cannot express the wonder and privilege of knowing.
Seekers of the Eternal Truth might endlessly cycle between searching for knowledge and wonder at its discovery. If you like to study, as I do, this vision might appeal to you.
I hear a similar promise with a different sound in the Gospel of Saint John:.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
This is God's promise to himself, or the Son's promise to His Father. It is their agreement that they love us. The Father has sent his Son to save us; the Son has sworn to do so out of love for His Father.
Clearly neither has any particular need to tell us what we're getting into. Jesus was never a huckster, selling us a bill of goods with vague promises. If you ask for more specific promises of Jesus you'll hear only of hardship, opposition from his enemies, and endless difficulty.
He will not abandon us to the shame, guilt and grief of our sins. He will not allow Death to have the last word over his people.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.