“… will never ever die…”
Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.” (John 11:25-6)
What an amazing promise! Isn’t death ultimately our greatest source of fear? Dying before we’re ready, without having lived the good life, or fulfilling our dreams, or making a difference? Dying and not knowing what lies beyond death?
It’s not our only source of fear, of course. But it forms early in our lives (as soon as we feel death’s sting in our circle), builds, and generally keeps its hold on us. It doesn’t typically shout for our attention like a fear of heights or spiders, but it quietly shapes what we think, how we act, who we become. I am dying. Slowly or quickly, my life will end; what will the rest of it be like, will I experience enough happiness and excitement and fulfillment, what will I be known for, and what … thereafter? The fear is uncomfortable, so most of the time we stuff it out of the way, pretending it doesn’t exist. Yet fear steadily feeds discontentment.
But what if we really believe this promise of Jesus? What if I trust deeply that I will never die.
Isn’t it the case that this fear – whether subtle or stark – can be relieved and even dismissed? A deep trust in living forever enables and encourages me to live at any moment as though today, tomorrow, and the rest of “this life” (the life as I know it) is only a minuscule blink in the much grander life offered to me. And this perspective, in turn, tells me to love without fear of being un-loved in return, to trust without fear of it being misplaced and betrayed, to be generous without fear of running out. This trust drives out fear and instead facilitates deep joy.
And what is the price of this fear-dispelling serum, this trust in life forever? Live in Jesus and believe in Jesus. A clear formula. Seven total words. Two actions. One focus.
Live and believe – in this Jesus God-man.