Eternal

Eternal
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” -John 10:28

Did you ever read a passage of Scripture that you’ve heard and/or read a hundred times or more, but suddenly it “hits different”? (Excuse the expression; I spend a lot of time around middle schoolers, remember.) That happened to me just a little while ago. I was doing my daily devotional, and the “assigned” passage for the day was John 10:28-29. I read it dutifully, then read the study notes in my Bible, then started reading the surrounding verses for context. This sort of thing happens to me a lot. I can’t help it; I’m a Bible nerd. Anyway, it isn’t exactly that I had a new revelation about what this passage means. I’m well aware of its meaning. It just suddenly became a little more personal, I guess?

At any rate, I started thinking. Thinking can be a dangerous pursuit, in a way. Dangerous because Scripture tells us that we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. So, I suppose that if you don’t ever want to change or learn or possibly alter your way of thinking; if you never want to have to say, “I may have been wrong”; if you believe you’re just fine as you are and you have it all figured out, then may I suggest you give up thinking. At all. Just stop. Because thinking can lead to reasoning, and reasoning can lead to new conclusions, or at least new ideas. And, as I’ve already said, this can be dangerous. For my part, I was blessed to grow up in a home where thinking was encouraged. Questions and even doubts were met with conversation, not scoffing or belittling. So…I think.

And what I thought when I was reading today was that verse 28 is a very definitive statement. The context here is important: Jesus was speaking to Jews about His flock, the true believers, the sheep who knew Him and followed His voice. He uses some important words. One of them is the word “never.” Those of us in the flock, those whom He has chosen for His own, will never perish. There is no exception suggested. There is no waffling here. If you are one of the Good Shepherd’s sheep, there is no going back, even if you think you want to. You are sealed for eternity. I suppose I have always taken that for granted, but isn’t it an extraordinary promise? You’re a child of the King, and you will never, ever be disowned. No matter how badly you mess up, how awfully you may behave, your Father will always love you and claim you for his own. How cool is that, really?

The other really incredible phrase Jesus uses here is “no one.” Once you are in the Shepherd’s hand, no one can snatch you away. More than that, you can’t even snatch yourself away. No matter how hard the world may try to pull you from the faith, no matter how hard you may try to leave it, it simply cannot be done. The reason for this complete and utter eternal security (we Reformed folks like to call it the perseverance of the saints—it sounds fancier) is quite simple: Our Shepherd is sovereign. If He decides that we are to be of His flock, there really is nothing we can do about that. That metaphorical Hound of Heaven will relentlessly pursue you until you are captured by His amazing grace. And, once he holds you in His almighty hand, He will never let you go. You’re stuck. Forever.

What a precious promise is contained in that single verse. What grace, what love, and oh, what peace—to know that we belong to a perfectly loving Father until the end of time and beyond.

Thanks be to God.
Amen.