Got life?

Today’s verse is 1 John 5:12.

¹² Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

I’m going to be brief this morning, mainly because there’s not much I can say about this verse. It’s pretty self explanatory. It’s one of those verses in the Bible that can probably cause a lot of controversy because it’s very straightforward.

If you believe in Christ, you have life.

If you don’t believe in Christ, you don’t have life.

Straight. To the point. Clear.

If you have the opportunity, you really should read all of 1 John 5. It talks a lot about how a Christian should live and about how we know Jesus is the Son of God.

But the most basic point from this section is this: Jesus is the Son of God, and if you know Him, you have eternal, real life.

The life we’re living now isn’t eternal and it sure isn’t real. People say that we live in a real world, but we don’t. Earth — the earth that we see, at least — is temporary, a mere shadow of what exists beneath it.

I love The Matrix because it’s such a clear picture of a false world people think is real.

The Bible tells us that the things we see will pass away but that it’s the things we can’t see that will last forever. It’s the things we can’t see — the soul, God, Love — that are real.

Until you know Christ, you won’t grasp any of those unseen things.

It’s a simple concept, but it’s a hard one to swallow because people say it’s exclusive. Well, it’s not. Being exclusive is refusing to accept someone because of something about them — their hair, their skin color, their history. No one is excluded from the offer of salvation through Christ. Everyone is welcome, and everyone has a choice. The church has done a lot of harm in this matter, though, and if you would ask a lot of churches in America today, they would tell you there are requirements in how you look or how you act. They would tell you to get your life straightened out before you came to Christ, and that’s not true.

God wants us just the way we are. If we waited until we got our lives straightened out, we’d never come at all because none of us will ever be right until we come to Christ. And even after we come to Him, all that means is that we’ve asked for forgiveness for the things we’ve done wrong and He’s forgiven us. That’s it. We’re still the screwed up people we’ve always been, and we’ll still make mistakes. But we have the Holy Spirit inside us, helping us get through life and urging us to make the right choices.

I want to live a real life, and I don’t just mean being genuine. I want to live a life that focuses on real things — on people, on God, on my relationship with God. Those are the things that will last forever. Not my material possessions. Not my education. Not my wealth (or lack thereof). Are all of these things good? Well, yes, they’re nice, and I’m thankful for what I have, but I don’t have to live my life based on them.

I know Jesus personally, so that means I have life. So it’s my responsibility to live the life He’s given me to its fullest extent, focusing on the things that will last forever. Because if you build your life on an eternal foundation, when everything else falls apart around you, your life will still be standing.