For years, I think I unconsciously thought of eternal life as something that began after we died.
But Jesus didn’t give that impression in 1 John 2:24–25:
“As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.”
John connects eternal life with abiding in God, not passively waiting for God. This isn’t simply a promise about where we’re going someday. Eternal life with Him has already begun.
And living things grow.
I’ve been a Christian for more than fifty years, which means I’ve had more than fifty years to discover just how much I still don’t know.
The older I get, the more comfortable I am saying, “I don’t know. I wonder…”
My inate sens of curiosity keeps me asking questions. I’ve learned that maintaining a teachable heart helps me to discover that some of my presupposed answers might need adjusting, and keeps a know-it-all attitude at bay. Together, they keep me learning from God, from other people, and from the world around me.
I’ve watched some people reach their later years and gradually begin treating life like the old British comedy Waiting for God. They’re still here, but they’re mostly waiting. Waiting for what comes next, without realizing how much they still have to give, and how much they still have to receive.
But we don’t have to be old to stop being curious.
At any age, we can decide we’ve learned enough, experienced enough, and figured out how things work. We can become so certain of what we know that we stop asking questions. I’ve seen that attitude in some of my younger friends and it saddens me, if I am honest. There is so much more to life to be lived fully engaged.
Jesus described Himself as the vine and us as the branches. A branch that abides in the vine is alive. It constantly receives. It grows. It bears fruit.
Not every season looks the same, and neither does the fruit. But as long as we’re abiding in Christ, we’re not sitting in God’s waiting room.
We’re living in eternity.
So I want to keep learning. Keep receiving. Keep giving. Keep growing.
And no matter how old I get, I never want to lose my sense of:
“I wonder…”
Until next time,
Kath
