Hope Beyond Death

From the Bible, we come to discover the descriptions of Who God is, or His attributes. Not only do we have an understanding about God, we also gain a deeper appreciation of how we can trust in God.

I want to highlight the attribute that God is eternal. This means that God is not created but has always existed. There is no beginning and no end to God…the Lord exists outside of time and limits.

The world around us and the visible universe is our reference for what exists. I was born in a certain place and time. God’s nature is outside of this reference.

In the Bible, the book of Psalms speaks to this truth, “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” (Psalm 90:2, NIV)

The eternal nature of God gives us great hope. By leaps and bounds, a major fear that people share is fear of death. This comes from uncertainty of what comes after we die. The Bible gives us a certain hope, the promise of everlasting life for those who believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in John 5:24 (NIV), “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

This is the reality…only an eternal God can promise us eternal life. If the Lord Himself is not outside of time, then we have no assurance of living forever ourselves. The promise for you and I to experience eternal life is because the Lord is eternal.

The message of Jesus Christ is that not only can we be restored back to a relationship with God broken by sin but only in Christ is the hope of eternal life. The suffering and death of Jesus on the cross and the resurrection of Christ conquered the curse of death. The hope of everlasting life is not a fantasy but a reality. People fear death because it represents uncertainty and the end of life. Jesus changes this.

The eternal nature of God gives us the only true hope…that we can be with the Lord forever. This is the guarantee of John 5:24, through belief in Jesus we can cross over from death to life. This is the wonderful truth of knowing the attributes of God!