Life Assurance

 

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

John 17: 3 NKJV 

I received a call this week from a salesman hoping that I would fall for his speech about buying life insurance.  As I talked with him I thought to myself that if he only knew me he would know that I could never possibly collect.  That is, I will never die.  This is a foundational Christian belief taught down through the years, that if we have been redeemed by Christ Jesus, that we have eternal life.  Indeed, even our scriptures ensure us of this.  This has been a hot topic of discussion amongst us the past few weeks as a few have taken to taking words apart in order to decipher their true meaning.  This isn't new, and believers have been cherry picking and deciphering the scriptures for years.  But what did I learn about myself from a life insurance salesman?  Well, I learned not about life insurance...but life assurance.  That is, the assurance that I am not bound by the years I pass on this earth.  The assurance that long after my fleshly vessel has passed, my spirit will remain with Christ Jesus.  I don't need some wanna be evangelist to reassure me of this.  The Lord has already laid it upon my heart.  So why do we waste our time debating the meaning of words instead of assuring others of the truth that we should already know?  Perhaps we want to impress others with our word skills?  But I have a better idea.  Did you ever notice that one of the most important companion pieces to any bible is a concordance?  Better yet, if you were smart you got yourself a Greek or Hebrew dictionary to decipher the ancient words of the scriptures.  After all, we all want to know what those words in the bible are referring to right?  Let me lay a few words on you...forever and eternal.  What is it that you think of when you hear these words?  I'm not a Pharisee school graduate, but when I hear the word forever I think of time without meaning.  What good is it to count the minutes that pass when they no longer have any meaning?  Time is of no consequence.  

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us."  But the other, answering rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?  "And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong."  Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom."  And Jesus said to him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise."

Luke 23: 39 - 43 NKJV 

I always found it ridiculous when a court found a mans crime so obscene that a judge would sentence him to consecutive life sentences.  Needless to say, what meaning does time have for such a man?  He is assured that his life is, for all intents and purposes, over.  What of the criminal on that cross next to Jesus?  You know, the one condemned to death as Christ was?  Seeing his opportunity for a reprieve, did he suddenly seek out Jesus that his own life might be spared?  Or, as I believe happened, suddenly decided to place his trust in the One he knew to be innocent.  Whatever the case, his trust was rewarded by Jesus.  Notice the response of Jesus to this man, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise."  Life assured.  I believe that we can all take a lesson from this man who gave himself to Christ Jesus while on his own cross.  Perhaps the first death bed conversion in history.  Do you worry over those words in the bible that proclaim eternal life?  Perhaps after cutting through their meaning like some grad school surgeon you are not convinced they mean what they say?  Consider the words of Jesus..."Assuredly I say to you."  Stop playing word games with the scriptures and rest in the knowing that as believers we now have life assured.

"And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand."

John 10: 28 NKJV 

~Scott~