My daughter and I were hanging out on the top of the staircase that led down to the beach below us. The sun was setting and the tide was coming in. Our eyes were fixed upon the sandcastle we had labored on earlier that day for three hours in the hot summer sun.

The evening was beautiful but the two of us were focused upon the water that was quickly approaching all of our hard work. The goal was to see if we could create a sandcastle strong enough to withstand high tide. This was unrealistic wishful thinking on my part. The castle was impressive. We had created a huge mound of sand that was shaped as a pyramid. It had towers around it and a very large moat to keep intruders out.

We watched as the water found its way inside the moat, and it quickly encircled the castle. The bridges we had built were slowing caving in, but we had dug the moat deep enough that the water wasn’t able to reach anywhere near our castle. My daughter and I both believed we had done the impossible. Finally, we had built a structure that would survive till morning. Confident of our achievement we turned and went inside for the evening.

The next morning, the first thing we decided to do was check and see if our confidence was merely just wishful thinking.  To our horror, we discovered that our sandcastle was completely gone. In fact, there wasn’t even a trace of it. We went down to examine the place where we had toiled for hours the day before and all that we had found was smooth pristine sand. All of our hard work was washed away as if we were never even there.

In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus described two men. The wise man who built his house on a rock and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. When the wind, the waves, and the rain beat against the houses, it was the house of the wise man that remained. Jesus stated that the house of the foolish man fell and great was its fall.

The foolish man did not lay the proper foundation for his house and so his house crumbled. When we don’t build our lives upon the right foundation, the things that we build in life can easily get washed away without leaving any trace of our presence and efforts.

Foundations are important because they determine whether or not your structure or what you have built with your life will last the test of time and stand through the difficulties that we all must face. When we build upon a wrong foundation and the storms of life come, will what you have built last? I don’t know about you, but I want to see my efforts last. I don’t want to see the things that I have built with my time and energy wash away. This thought should really make all of us examine the foundations that we have built our lives upon.  And when it comes to your own journey of faith, what are you building?

Jesus was someone who challenged the foundational thinking and teaching of his day. Jesus took what people thought they understood and flipped it upside down. In fact, when he began his ministry he would say, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” He invited people to repentance. Now this word “Repentance,” to many, has a negative connotation attached to it. Some think it means to grovel or to plead for mercy. It most certainly doesn’t involve whipping yourself or metaphorically “kicking yourself” to prove how repentant you are. On the contrary, repentance is a wonderful action and a necessary part of an ever advancing life.

The word repentance, comes from the Greek word metanoia[G3341], which simply means to “think differently” or to “change what you know.” Its not about feeling sorry for yourself but rather about discovering the right direction. In Romans 12:2, the Apostle Paul wrote that we are to be “transformed by the renewal of your mind.” The way you think and believe shapes the way you live. One of the reasons why Jesus was hated by the Pharisees is because He didn’t just rock the boat when it came to their culture and way of thinking, He sunk the ship!

Herein lies the the purpose of this post. My aim is to challenge your foundational understanding on a subject that many feel they have a strong and accurate grasp.

So here’s the question. Drum role please…. What is your definition of Eternal Life?

Now I know this question can seem silly, but I think its important. Where does your mind go when you read these two words, “Eternal Life” in scripture? For those who have been brought up in the church, the answer seems obvious because we have been quoting John 3:16 since we were five years old. “For God so loved the world he gave his one and only Son, that whoever would believe in him would not perish but have enteral life.” Many have concluded from this scripture that believing in Jesus is what gets you into heaven and this belief is absolutely correct. But, is our understanding of eternal life the same understanding that a Jewish culture from 2,000 years ago held of eternal life?

Is the “Eternal Life” that Jesus was referring to the same “Eternal Life” that we think about today? Or is it possible that there is a wrong foundation or way of thinking that we need to correct?

What Is Eternal Life?

In Matthew 19:16-22 a rich young ruler approaches Jesus and asks, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” Once again, we think that any child from Sunday school could answer this question. “You need to asks Jesus into your heart.” “You need to believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.” “Its not about the good deeds that you do; its about receiving the grace of God.” We would applaud any child for answers like these, but Jesus doesn’t give this man a single answer like the answers that we think would enable him to have eternal life.

In fact, Jesus told the man, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” Wait a minute, Jesus, that means going to heaven would be about our “good deeds.” Thats not what I was taught in Sunday School! The rich young ruler responded to Jesus, “Which ones? and Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

The young man goes on to tell Jesus that he has kept all of these commandments and then proceeds to ask Jesus what he still lacks. To which Jesus tells him there is one thing that he isn’t doing. “Go, sell what you possess and give to the poor…” Wait a minute, does that mean we need to pay to get to heaven? Or do we give away all that we have to the poor and then we can go to heaven? Is that how it works?

In Luke 10 a lawyer asked Jesus the same question that this rich young ruler had asked. Verse 25 states, “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

Jesus asked the man, “How do you interpret the Law? How do you read it?” The Lawyer answers, “Love God and Love my neighbor.” In modern terms, Jesus says, “you nailed it.” Do this and you will live. But the lawyer had an agenda and asks, “Who is my neighbor.” So Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.

We have to understand the culture to really grasp what Jesus is saying. The Jews and the Samaritans have hated each other for hundreds of years that started around the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after their captivity in Babylon. To a Jew, there was no such thing as a “Good Samaritan”. This was an oxymoron. You would never put the word “good” before the word “Samaritan.” So instantly we know Jesus is pushing this lawyer’s buttons.

Jesus tells this story of man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him. Now Jericho is located northeast of Jerusalem but they would say “going down” because Jerusalem is located 2500 feet above sea level and Jericho is located 825 feet below sea level. The trip was 18 miles long, so it was quite a decent.

The name of this pass eventually became known as the the ascent of red or the ascent of blood. This valley is believed to be the same valley that David wrote about in Psalm 23 the “Valley of the Shadow of Death.” Thieves were known to hide in the caves and beat up the shepherds and steal the sheep.

From the language it also seems that Jesus is having some fun with this story, because he said that the first two people (the priest and the Levite) who came across this man who was beaten to death, passed by on the other side of the road but from photographs of this road that I have seen, it really doesn’t look like there was any other side. The road is incredibly narrow with a wall of cliff going up on one side and cliff dropping off on the other side.

The man who helps the half dead man on the road is a Samaritan. Basically, he is an enemy. Jesus is opening this lawyer’s eyes to a whole new level of love. When Jesus asked, “Which of these there, do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?” this lawyer can’t or won’t even say the word “Samaritan.” He just says “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said “go and do likewise.”

Jesus makes it clear that eternal life is found in loving our enemies and forgiving those who may have hurt you. Its easy to love people who are kind and generous and have proven their love for you. But in the new covenant Jesus raises the standard of love. No longer are we to simply love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus stated in John 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” The young lawyer’s initial question was about attaining eternal life, and Jesus answers this question by telling him to love others. In other words Jesus didn’t make eternal life about a destination. Jesus made eternal life to mean something for more tangible and present. He made eternal life about how we love others right now.

So then is the “eternal life” that Jesus and these men are referring to the same eternal life that we are concerned with today? In the Greek, the “eternal life” that these scriptures are referring to is “anionios zoe.” Zoe means life or vitality. Anionios is an adjective that derives its duration from the subject to which it refers. It comes from the Greek anion which means an age. The people of Jesus’ time were not concerned with life after death. Instead, most people where concerned with eternal life but in a way that described a peaceful and present connection with Yahweh.

In Matthew 19, the rich young ruler asked how to obtain eternal life. Now the answer from Jesus is surprising. He doesn’t say, “believe in me,” “ask for forgiveness,” “invite me into your heart.” Instead Jesus points him back to the law.

During this time people believed that in order to live a full abundant life you obeyed the Mosaic Law. By following these rules you could live a blessed life but there was a lot of confusion back then because over time Master Rabbis emerged that stressed certain teaching and interpretations of the Law. Each master rabbis had his own particular set of interpretations which were called that rabbis “yoke”. So if you were accepted as a disciple of a particular rabbi you took his yoke upon you. Now in Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

The people of this time where more concerned with living an abundant life that brought them peace and where they lived in connection with God than they were about where they went when they died. The rich young man, in Matthew 19, is coming to Jesus and is asking him how he too could have this eternal life. Was this man asking about heaven, or was he asking about living out the rest of his days on earth well in a peaceful and present connection with Yahweh? The young man says “I’ve obeyed all the commandments,” but Jesus knew which ones he hadn’t obeyed. This man was greedy. Its almost as if he is asking Jesus “What am I not doing right? Why don’t I feel peace and a connection with God? What am I lacking?” I believe this man was miserable and Jesus was telling him how he could live well.

So Jesus tells him to sell all of his possessions and give them to the poor and then he will have treasure in heaven. If he did this, then he would have eternal life, then he would know peace and a present connection with God because there is eternal life, in being generous.

We thus can conclude that the eternal life to which Jesus is referring to is not the eternal life we are considering here. This young man wanted to know how to live a good life now. Jesus tells him. Don’t be greedy. If you can live generously, then you will know eternal life because there is eternal life in blessing others and giving to the poor.

Jesus made eternal life about how we live here on earth and not about getting to heaven.

Bringing Heaven to Earth

We too often make “eternal life” all about getting to heaven. But Jesus, it seems, was more concerned about bringing heaven to earth.

Its in being generous and giving that we discover “eternal life.” Its in loving not just those who love you but in loving those who even despise you that enables us to live into and grab a hold of eternal life. Jesus made eternal life about how we live here in this age and not about going to paradise. This is also the type of living Jesus was showing us how to live. He was the prototype.

We have a deeply rooted misconception of eternal life in our day and age. We need to change our thinking. Christianity has become all about getting somewhere, which I believe is a wrong foundation to build our faith upon.

If I am going to go with anyone’s definition of “Eternal Life”, I’m not going to use John’s definition or Paul’s definition. I’m going to use Jesus’ definition of Eternal life.

John 17:3  – “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

Jesus didn’t make eternal life about going somewhere He made it all about knowing someone. As a pastor I have witnessed the journey of faith in others. I’ve been to conferences where people will respond to altar calls and give their lives to Jesus only to see them fall away later. Or you take a group of teenagers to a well known conference that is held each year and each time they attend they respond to the altar call. They love the promise of eternal life, but because it is presented to them in the form of a destination, they have no real understanding of what eternal life is. Their foundation is laid wrong and so everything they try to build upon it overtime washes away, which is why they keep on going up and responding to every altar call they hear.

We have made the essence of Christianity about a destination rather than a relationship. So they say a prayer and they respond to the Holy Spirit and that is awesome. The response is worthy of a celebration but thats where it stops because it wasn’t about relationship. The foundation they laid was about destination.

Psalm 73:25 “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

I think we should have a hunger for heaven, but I want my hunger for Jesus to exceed my hunger for heaven. As a pastor, I refuse to make this faith about a destination. Jesus spoke more about bringing heaven to earth and connecting people with a God of love then He did about going to heaven. (If people are so hungry for heaven shouldn’t that translate into a deep desire to bring heaven to earth?)

I believe that God is omnipresent. He is present everywhere. Meaning, he is just as much here (earth) as He is there (heaven). See, whether you are here or there I don’t think it matters much to God, because He is just as much present with you now as He will be when you are there.

Our view of eternal life has a way of making or breaking the foundational desire that God has for each of our lives which is to know him intimately.

The current belief of eternal life as a place you go when you die called heaven actually works against the essence and purpose of eternal life. Eternal life according to Jesus is knowing the one true God. The idea of eternal life as a destination actually destroys and/or prohibits people from the practice and participation of true eternal life. God desires eternal life for all of us. He is a God of love and relationship. What He desires is relationship with you.

When eternal life becomes all about going to heaven it keeps us from knowing Jesus now and it prevents us from living with the intended purpose of bringing Heaven to Earth. God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about this very point. If you are going to make any type of boast in life, the only thing worth boasting about is actually knowing God in relationship.

Jeremiah 9:24 “But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me…”

People get caught in this “sin-confess-sin-confess” cycle because they thought life was all about getting “there” instead of knowing Jesus here. And then they wonder why all their hard work keeps getting swept away. They’ve exhausted their lives building in the sand.

By the way, this “eternal life,” is the same “eternal life” that we find in John 3:16.

“For God SO loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that who ever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life (would come to know him).

God didn’t send His Son just so you could go to Heaven. He sent His Son so that you would know Him because there is eternal life in knowing Jesus. God gifted life to us in the form of relationship with Jesus. He said in John 14, “I Am The Life.” There are people perishing in this world because they have never truly come to “know” Jesus, the source of all life.

I will read my bible because I want to know him. I will pray because I want to know him. I will go to church and participate because when I do I get to know Him. I will forgive, and love (even my enemies) and be committed to my family and live generously. I will take care of my body and the earth. I will bring heaven to earth because this is how we participate in eternal life. Its not about going somewhere. Its about knowing Jesus.