“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
~ John 6:40
Hi James and Ellen,
Your grandpaa’s 96 year’s old Aunt Helk died last week. Your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk had been confined to the assisted living wing of the hospital that is located in Brookings, South Dakota. When your grandmaa and grandpaa were in Volga, South Dakota about ten days ago to visit your grandpaa’s ma, your grandmaa, grandpaa and your grandpaa’s ma went to Brookings to visit your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk. Even though it was quite obvious that your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk was very close to dying, she had a rather peaceful look on her face. Because your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk was comatose, your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk quite probably did not know that she had visitors. When your grandmaa asked a nurse how long your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk would live, the nurse told your grandmaa that your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk would probably not live for another ten days. If your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk made a decision of faith to accept what God – as God the Son, did for her after He was hung on and nailed to a cross – which your grandpaa believes that his Aunt Helk did, where do you think that your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk is right now? Do you think that your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk is rejoicing in heaven right now or do you think that she will remain in an extended ‘sleep’ on planet Earth until God – as God the Son – returns to planet Earth to claim the guys, gals and kids who His Father – Who is God the Father, specially elected before He created planet Earth to be His adopted kids – at which time your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk will begin her eternal life of heavenly joy?
John 6 may have the answer for you. What do you hope is the answer? Jesus’ disciples became very frustrated with what Jesus was telling them to accept as absolute truth which was that He alone was the bread of life – that no guy, gal or kid would ever go hungry if he or she humbly came to Him for help and that no guy, gal or kid would ever go thirsty if he or she unreservedly believed in Him. Even though Jesus’ disciples could honestly say to Jesus that they understood Him to be the Holy One of God, they were still grumbling and grossing about what Jesus was telling the guys, gals and kids who were following Him to hear His teachings. Jesus’ disciples were not happy with seeing just one or two miracles; they wanted to see Jesus perform more and more miracles. Jesus’ disciples did not want to hear Jesus making confounding statements about His body giving life – like His flesh being real food and His blood being real drink and that if a guy or a gal or a kid ‘ate of His flesh’ and ‘drank of His blood’ that he or she would have eternal life. Jesus used manna as an example to explain the difference between His body being enough food for giving eternal life and manna being only enough food for a day. Jesus’ followers – and disciples, really struggled with what Jesus was teaching them about why He was on planet Earth. Jesus’ followers – and disciples, really struggled equating Jesus with having the ability to miraculously feed 5000 guys – plus gals and kids, from five small barley loaves and two small fish, with having the ability to miraculously show up walking on water in the middle of the Sea of Galilee – three and a half miles away from any shore, and with the ability to miraculously heal sick, lame, deaf, blind, crazed guys, gals and kids to a guy who was talking nonsensically or ludicrously to them about His body and blood being their food and drink for life. By the time that John wrote his John Book, John had been able to internalize what Jesus said when He told him and the other eleven disciples that only the guys, gals and kids who His Father – Who was God the Father, had enabled to come to Him to become born again would be able to come to Him to be a follower of Him and that no other guy, gal or kid would be able to come to Him to become a born again to be a follower of Him. When Jesus told this to the guys, gals and kids who were following Him, a lot of the guys, gals and kids stopped following Him. Even though Jesus would tell His twelve disciples that one of them was a follower of the devil, all twelve guys continued to follow Him.
Are you still curious about whether or not your grandpaa’s Aunt Helk is in heaven right now or in an extended sleep on planet Earth? Your grandpaa sure would like to believe that when he dies that he will be taken as one of God’s especially elected kids right to heaven but . . . your grandpaa has often heard a guy or a gal say something about another guy, gal or kid already being in heaven but . . . verse 40 is Jesus saying, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”” Your grandpaa believes that the last day is when Jesus returns to planet Earth at which time He will collect all the guys, gals and kids who His Father – Who is God the Father, especially elected to be His adopted kids. Jesus’ teaching here to the guys, gals and kids who were following Him – and to His twelve disciples, is that His body and blood would give them after His death while being inhumanly hung on and nailed to a cross, after being entombed, after rising from being dead and after ascending into heaven eternal life when they accept Him to be their Lord and Savior. Whether eternity means that a life in heaven begins at the moment of a physical death or at the moment of Jesus’ return to planet Earth does not really matter to your grandpaa – your grandpaa just knows that He faces an eternity that will be filled with a sanctified pureness in a hallowed place where physical hurts will be replaced with spiritual joy. It may be that death at the end of a brief earthly stay will lead immediately to an eternal heavenly life but if it does not, so what – it is ultimately going to take place one day after a blink of a nap here on planet Earth.
John 6 (868)