The apostle John wrote these words as both comfort and warning. The same Holy Spirit who guided him to pen these words is the same Holy Spirit who led James to write that even the demons believe in God.
Let’s be clear. Anyone who believes in Jesus as Savior, clings to Him, trusts Him with all they are, already has eternal life. That starts immediately, not when that person dies. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, “the old life is gone, the new life has begun!”
BUT…
Anyone who rejects the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, disregards Him, refuses to believe in Him, or refuses to be subject to Jesus will never see eternal life. Never. They will walk through life and into eternity with the wrath of God continually upon them.
We all have a choice. Every single one of us. It’s much bigger than choosing a career or a place to live. It’s more important than the college we choose. This is the one choice that determines where we will live after our current life ends. Mind you, we say rejecting Christ brings eternal death. What that means is eternal life without God in a place He made for Satan and all the demons. It is there they will rule and have their heyday. It is there that God is not. Nothing of Him exists there. No kindness, no goodness, no love, no peace. Constant, unending noise, tears, wailing, gnashing of teeth. Constant. No rest. Ever. For eternity. Not to mention the heat and the smell.
It is in this life that you make the choice for the rest of your life. The part of your life after you leave this world. You are an eternal being. You will live forever, you need to choose where that will be.
If you have chosen Jesus, yay! Praise God! What about all those people you care about, have they? Family members? What about that favorite server at your favorite restaurant? What about your mail carrier? Your doctor? The friends at the gym? The friends at church? (Yes, even some of them haven’t chosen Jesus.)
If you haven’t decided to follow Jesus, accepting His sacrifice for your salvation, why not? What’s holding you back? It’s not a difficult step. You don’t have to get ‘clean’ before you do it. You can’t. He will take care of that. Just be aware that if you continue to reject the Lord, you are choosing eternal life under the terrible wrath of God, instead of joy and peace with Him.
I hope you choose Life.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
