John 3:36 - Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
The lives that have been given to us are short. It seems that the older you get, the more you realize the brevity of life and the more you begin to think about what comes after. This precious life that we have is not only short, but fragile as well. It doesn’t matter where you live, how much money you have, who you know, or how advanced the medical care is; nobody can ultimately stop death when it comes.
People throughout history have wondered what comes after we die, if anything at all. According to God’s word, the reason we even have to concern ourselves with death at all is because of the sinful fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve. It’s fair to assume that had they not sinned against God, they would have lived as long as God intended, that is, forever. The desire for this eternal life and home with God is wired into every person, and whether we want to acknowledge that or not, we can’t seem to escape the question, “Is there more than just this life?”
Jesus’ response to that question is a clear, “Yes”, but that “yes” is based on two choices that we make. The first choice is whether or not we believe in Jesus as the Son of God. Why is this important? Because if Jesus is the Son of God, then he has the power to confront and eliminate our sin problem that leads to death. He is calling us to believe in his words and his works, trusting that he is the promised savior who would bring life to those who otherwise would only know death. This belief is the first necessity for eternal life with God, but it requires us to make another choice.
It’s not only belief that Jesus mentions here. He also mentions obedience to what he has commanded. Many people profess belief in Jesus, in fact even the demons do that, but in order to see life with God that we all long for, obedience to Jesus is necessary. Obedience is one of those words that can cause us to tense up, but that should not be the case with Jesus. He is a kind, true, loving, generous, compassionate master whose desire is for our good to the point of where he served us by dying for us.
The wrath of God is what you deserve, and yet God has given you the suffering servant, Jesus Christ. He has walked before you and is walking with you. He has given you commands to guide you and to bring you health and good. Trust that whatever obedience he calls you to, he will help you to follow through with it, and in the end you have eternal life with him to look forward to. He has paved the way. Believe in him. Follow him. Trust him. Obey him. Eternal life awaits, and what a glorious promised land it will be.
