God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God. (1 Jn 5: 12-13)

John, much the mystic like Paul, assures us that we have eternal life. John does not say that Jesus promised us eternal life someday, somewhere in the distant future. Heaven will have to be up there and out here because that is where God resides in the popular imagination. Eternal is not some-thing. Eternal life is Jesus living within us. It is here and now and it is to come. Continue reading →