The words “eternal life” is an important phrase in the New Testament. Matthew 19:16-30, 25:46; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 10:25-37, 18:30; and John 3:16, 3:36, 4:14, 36, and found in chapters 5, 6, 10, 12, 17 of John’s gospel.
Many scholars believe the
phrase “eternal life” is Not just living forever with Jesus/God in heaven when
we die. Whereas that is true, according to the gospel writers, who received their
material from Jesus, “eternal life” was more about living the “good news” of
God’s love for all Now! That makes a lot of sense as we pray in The Lord’s Prayer,
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth - as it is in heaven.”
Jesus’ words in the references above attest to that gospel truth. Jesus lived
to help people live lives of love, right then, to help them have the life God
intended for the world to have at creation. What if we loved, forgave, welcomed,
and accepted all people, now, as Jesus did throughout His life and ministry? We
would have more peace and hope, more “eternal life”, now, that our world, we
all, so desperately need. As always, I welcome your thoughts and comments.
My reading of Jewish thought of the day is other rabbis exclusively emphasized life in the present day, and Jesus even mentioning life after death was the radical part.
ReplyDelete