eternal life

acts 8:26-40; Let all the earth cry out to GOd with joy; John 44-51

"whoever believes has eternal life."

Think about eternal life.  Eternal life is not a matter of lasting a long time; rather this expresses a certain quality of existence, in which duration, as an endless sequence of moments, disappears.

To long for eternity in some sense then is an act of defiance.  It is the refusal to settle for the finite, the material, the things of earth.  It means refusing to be satisfied with the here and now.  It is in some respect  the refusal to live for the moment, which certainly goes against our current societal's mantra.

It means pushing forward and living with greater expectations. Eternal life connects us to every moment, not just one moment for it belongs to all moments and no moment at the same time. To speak of a moment is already to lose sight of eternity, that which has no moments to speak of for there is not brevity in heaven nor movement from one point to another there is only and simply the "now" of love.

Thus the longing for eternity  remains an act of defiance.
In our heart we are defiant for we know there is something more, we want love that is forever "now."

In this life it seems that every moment is too short and life seems to pass away with the moment before we are able to grasp it, catch hold of it.

Eternal life thus is not that which comes afterwards but a new quality of existence.

Thus, eternal life does not belong to chronological time but can be present in the midst of earthly life; it is in the midst of time, whenever we come face to face with God.

Eternal life  thus takes its beginning in communion with God here and now; the here and now is seized and taken up into the great expanse of true reality, where living for the moment gives way to life itself where no moments remain.

This gives new meaning to the words of Christ, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

In the moment of communion we are given a taste of eternity, the "now" of love enters into us and we into love.

This is why we proclaim, "Amen!"

By our life of faith, we bring eternity with us when and where we go.  There is no need to look outside of yourself; just take a long deep look to the inside.

Be defiant: live not for the moment but for the now of love.