Eternal Life

Our scripture for today is John 3:16, reading from the New International Version.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The King James version might be more familiar to some.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

This was probably the very first Bible verse I learned to memorize, which was in vacation Bible school. Did I understand what it said or meant? Probably not, but I could recite it to the pleasure of my mother and teacher.

We do not have a son, only daughters. Regardless, I cannot imagine offering one as a sacrifice as Abraham was asked to do. Furthermore, from what we know, he was not hesitant in taking Isaac up the mountain to be sacrificed. i would imagine that Sarah Isaac’s mother had something to say about the situation. However, in Old Testament times, women had less say-so about such matters.

During Jesus' earthly life, he seemed to be on a mission to carry out God’s will. Towards the end of his life, it almost seemed like a self-sacrifice or giving of himself for the atonement or substitution of his life for our sins.

The verse says that whoever believes will not perish but have everlasting life. As a child, this was very difficult to comprehend. What does everlasting or eternal life look like? As adults, we know that eventually our earthly bodies will wear out, we will die and be buried or cremated, and ashes will be spread or deposited in the ground or an urn. However, for believers, our souls will reside in heaven. We don’t know what that existence looks like. I have read of several individuals who have had near-death experiences and said that it was a wonderful experience.

Please pray with me.

Dear God, help us to understand what it means to believe in you. Help us to be a witness to others that they might also become believers in you and have the faith and hope for eternal life. Amen.

This devotional was written and read by Emmit Rawls.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.