by Charie Winburn

Created on: September 03, 2009   Last Updated: September 12, 2009

The people surrounding the grave seemed hopeless and full of despair. Many were sobbing uncontrollably. There was no light, no understanding, and no hope. For them this was the end and their wife and mother was gone forever.

While Jesus Christ dwelt on earth he spoke of eternal life often. In St. John 3 Jesus gave these famous and stirring words, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (St. John 3:16) Those who have faith in God the Father and Jesus Christ can come to know and understand that the hope of eternal life is a tremendous blessing.

The question then...what is the promise of eternal life?

The scriptures are relatively vague on the subject containing no actual description of eternal life possibly because our mortal minds could not comprehend what it will be like. In St. John 17 there is, however, a great description of the most important aspect of eternal life. As Jesus offered his intercessory prayer he said, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent." (St. John 17:3). Eternal life, then, is the opportunity to know God the Father and Jesus Christ, one on one, personally, even intimately. What could be better than that?

Think about the one person you know best in this world. You know their likes and dislikes, their hopes and dreams, even their little quirks. Now visualize knowing God the Father and Jesus Christ to that same degree and more. Imagine understanding who they are and why. Visualize metaphorically sitting down to breakfast and chatting with them, day after day. What an amazing gift, "To know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." The physical trappings of eternal life are much less relevant if we understand that one concept.

So...what does the hope of eternal life do for us now?

First it gives strength in difficult times. There are many who seem to drown in adversity. Their demeanor and their actions are fueled by their inability to cope with the circumstances. Most often they sink deeper and deeper as if in quicksand with nothing and no one to pull them out.

Conversely there are people who always come out on top. Adversity falls but they don't sink but go straight through the quicksand and come out on the other side. Those are the people who have an understanding of and hope for eternal life. With this understanding difficult times seem

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