Promises to Keep

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.” John  3:16  NASB

Eternal life – “Man’s task is to make the world worthy of redemption.”[1]  But wait!  Why should I worry about making the world worthy of redemption when I’m waiting to leave?  Eternal life is about departing—to a better life.  Why bother with this horrible place?

Let’s think about “eternal” life?  What does this really mean?  Can you conceive of living forever?  What will life be like if there isn’t any end?  Will you just get older and older?  Will your body never wear out?  Will your relationships continue as they are—forever?  Will all the physical processes that keep you alive now simply stop?  And what would that mean?  Taste, touch, smell—are they gone?  Will you never sweat again?  Never sleep?  Never yawn?  Never tire?  What would that be like?  Will you dress?  Wash?  Will you need a closet?  A kitchen?  A path for walking?  What kind of world will it be if it’s going to be eternal? Not boring, I hope.

You know, if you really think about it, maybe all those mystical visions of heavenly bliss aren’t quite so enthralling after all.  Maybe this world is really our home and we would find ourselves aliens in heaven.  And if this is true, well then, “Man’s task is to make the world worthy of redemption.”[2]  Perhaps there’s a good reason why the Tanakh says virtually nothing about another world, another life.  All the speculation about Heaven began after the Babylonian Captivity during the age of Hellenistic influence.  Maybe it’s time to put that guesswork aside and concentrate on what we do know—life here and now.

How can we make the world worthy of redemption?  Well, first, we can stop heavenly-minded utopian thinking.  “Are you going to heaven when you die?” is an evangelical diversion.  John’s verse isn’t a heavenly guarantee.  It’s a commitment to God’s restoration program.  Look at the Greek.  aiṓn is the term for “vital force, lifetime, age, generation,” and “eternity.”  Is John telling us we will have everlasting time, or is he saying that we will have time enough?  The apostolic writings already suggest that we enter into this temporal state, not at some point in the future, but as soon as we engage in the relationship with the Messiah.  Eternal life doesn’t start when you die.  It starts when you commit.  And that means on this earth, in this moment.  What if John is saying that if you believe (an action verb) you will discover that life fills up with God’s purposes—and those won’t end until they’re done.  How would your behavior change if you thought that you’re experiencing that “time enough” time now?  What if “eternal” meant “unceasingly engaged in God’s purposes.”  “For the ultimate aspiration of man is not to be a master, but an object of His knowledge.  To live ‘in the light of His countenance,’ to become a thought of God—this is the true career of man.”[3]

Heaven can wait.  Maybe forever.

Topical Index: eternal, life, time, aiṓn, John 3:16

[1] Abraham Heschel, Between God and Man: An Interpretation of Judaism (Free Press Paperbacks, 1959), p. 197.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., p. 200