1 John 2:25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
This is the deep longing of the human soul: there must be something beyond this life. If this life is all there is, then most people live in despair because this life often has little to offer us. We can descend to animal thinking of mere survival and satisfaction of our instincts. This leads to an empty cycle: get up, eat, work, sleep, buy things that make life comfortable, accumulate what we can so we can have garage sales, go in debt to have nice cars and houses, save for retirement so we can continue this lifestyle, find a comfortable nursing home to live out our last days in comfort, prolong our life as long as we can because we know that this is all there is. Ecclesiastes describes this type of mindset as futile, a chasing after the wind, an empty pursuit of meaninglessness.
God offers a different way, one that brings the happiness in this life that people are looking for, and also a hope for an existence after this life is over. This hope is based on a promise of God. It is summed up well in the words of John 3:16: God “gave his only begotten Son.” God’s gift assures of life now and forever. This life is not simply the breath of life that fill our lungs and empowers our bodies, but the Breath of God that brings new creation in Christ.
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