Richard Dahlstrom blew me away today. I have heard a lot of sermons/lectures/thoughts on Luke 18:18-25, but Dahlstrom raises an important (and typically over looked) question- what is eternal life? Some sort of after life, right? I certainly think of that, and I (and Dahlstrom) would venture to guess most people do as well. But Dahlstrom says that the after life isn't the kind of eternal life Jesus is getting at.
The eternal life Jesus is giving us is a life right here and now that is eternal. That we are able to live a life that is eternal because we have a life that is regenerative. Wow.
Though I deeply believe that Jesus came to give us life before, not just after death (I have to admit I stole that phrase nearly directly from Shane Claiborne) and that we are able to transform the world we live in bringing the kingdom of God to earth, Dahlstrom's idea just blew me away. Eternal life is such a power concept, but can also seem like such a distant idea. The idea that the life we are living right now, at this very moment and not just some future life can be eternal is astounding.
- Annie Mae
- I'm back from Sierra Leone and trying to make sense of it all. I am asking some big questions- what is justice? what is mercy? where are they in the world?- hopefully you'll come wrestle with them too.
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