1 John 5:11, 12 (NIV) And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. COMMENTARY PEARL Eternal life doesn't merely mean going to heaven when you die and living forever, as amazing and wonderful as that promise is. Eternal life involves knowing Almighty God intimately. That began the moment you entered into a relationship with Christ, and it will extend throughout eternity. Eternal life, however, is a quality of life more than a quantity. It's abundant life. It's security in the nurturing intimacy of your personal relationship with your heavenly Father, contentment in the joy of His presence with you, and radiantly hopeful because of His promises to you. To thoroughly experience eternal life in the present as well as in the future, you must continually strive to know God more intimately. Some Christians seem to think that they have to wait until heaven to truly know and experience Christ, so they unwisely neglect their relationship with Christ in this life. Yet Scripture suggests that we take with us into eternity the relationship with God that we began on earth. God invites us to experience and enjoy eternal life - by knowing and experiencing Him. Start enjoying eternal life today. [Being Still With God Every Day by Henry Blackaby re John 17:3] COMMENTARY We have the desire for happiness deeply ingrained within us. In other words, God has hardwired us to be happy. So where do we find this happiness? We wont find it is in this world, because the world bases happiness on how well things are going. If things are going reasonably well, then were happy. If things are not going so well, then were unhappy. When you obtain everything, when you have all your dreams fulfilled, when you reach all your goals and maybe surpass them, you find how empty it is. And then you realize that happiness isnt in those things at all. I think in many cases, the people you follow on social media and those you admire or look up to may have a far more miserable life than you have. One Gallup study on the subject of happiness found that spiritually committed people are twice as likely to report being very happy than the least spiritually committed people. Ill take that a step further: Godly people will be the happiest people. As the Bible says, Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! (Psalm 144:15 NKJV). C. S. Lewis put it this way: God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. The more we chase after the Lord, the more godly well become - and the more well find the happiness that has eluded us for so long. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com re Psalm 144:15] God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity CLOSING THOUGHT If you asked people if they are going to heaven or hell, many of them will likely say, I hope Ill go to heaven. But hope just isnt good enough. I pray thats not your answer. Your eternal destiny is too important not to know for sure. Its foolish to be unprepared for what we all know is inevitable: death. The most recent statistics show that mortality rates in the world remain 100 percent! Youre not guaranteed another minute on this planet, much less another hour. Dont put off the most important choice youll ever make. The Bible says in 1 John 5:11-12, And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life (NIV). Thats about as clear as you can get. If you have Jesus, you have life. If you dont have Jesus, you do not have life. You have a choice. [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/] PRACTICAL APPLICATION When you seek My face, put aside thoughts of everything else. I am above all, as well as in all; your communion with Me transcends both time and circumstances. Be prepared to be blessed bountifully by My Presence, for I am a God of unlimited abundance. Open wide your heart and mind to receive more and more of Me. When your Joy in Me meets My Joy in you, there are fireworks of heavenly ecstasy. This is eternal life here and now: a tiny foretaste of what awaits you in the life to come. Now you see only a poor reflection as in a mirror, but then you will see face to Face. (John 15:11; 1 Cor. 13:12) [Jesus Calling by Sarah Young] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC 1 John 5:11, 12 - Eternal Life Is A Relationship With Jesus. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2006/20061214-0741.html John 17:3 - A Supreme Relationship with Jesus Christ is Eternal Life. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20180823-1030.html YOUR COMMENTS If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or testimony on this passage of Scripture, either personal or otherwise, I would be interested in hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred Gibbs LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT Most Important Decision in Life: http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0 A Man without Equal by Bill Bright: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo Steps to Peace by Billy Graham: https://stepstopeace.org/ Seeking God Made Real: http://vimeo.com/31489782 Prayer Made Real: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies: http://www.liftingupjesus.net/ Amazing Facts Bible Studies: http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx Voice of Prophecy Discover Bible Study Guides: https://www.voiceofprophecy.com/study/discover Glow Tract Video Bible Studies: http://www.bibleresearch.info/ LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/ Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW: https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657 Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE