July 7

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. — John 10:28 BSB

The Lord says, “I give them (my sheep) eternal life.” Not, “I will give them in the future,” but “I give it to them now.” We read, “He that believes in the Son has everlasting life”—has it now, as a present, experienced reality. This life is given when Christ reveals himself to the soul, for eternal life is then received from his fullness as something felt and enjoyed. All who have truly fled to Christ for refuge and embraced the hope set before them have, in doing so, embraced eternal life. They live because they are in Christ, for he is “our life.” As they embrace this life in him, they feel its sweet stirrings in their hearts—in the joy it brings, the peace it imparts, the hope it offers, and the doubts and fears it dispels.

In true religion, there is something tangible, something to grasp, which distinguishes a good hope through grace from every other hope that is delusive, imaginary, or misguided. You can be sure that there is a reality in vital godliness—a possession for eternity—that makes the living child of God dead to a perishing world and the fleeting things of time. Whenever we catch a glimpse of Christ, we catch a glimpse of eternal life in him; for he is the eternal Son of God, and when he reveals himself to our soul, he shows us that all our life is in him. The work he accomplished is for eternity. He himself lives forever and ever, and those whom he has redeemed by his blood, justified by his righteousness, and sanctified by his grace will live forever in his glorious presence. It is the eternity of his love that gives it its greatest worth and blessedness. This life, being eternal, guarantees both its permanence and its unchangeable nature, ensuring that it remains firm and stable for all the heirs of the promise. So, as we lay hold of eternal life by laying hold of Christ, the life, and as hope springs up in our hearts, it opens before us a vista of everlasting joy.