Faith - A Foretaste of Eternal Life

When heaven and eternal life are thought about, the general perception is one of life continuing on the same forever. The Bible’s descriptions are more than this. ‘In’ eternity, the ‘beginning’ and the ‘past’ are just as the ‘present’ and the ‘future’. Words and phrases like ‘past’, ‘present’, ‘future’ and ‘continuing on’ are temporal, making sense only in our natural physical world. In eternity, where there is no sense of ‘time’ as we know it, our physical concepts of ‘before’ and ‘after’, ‘cause’ and ‘effect’ don’t apply.

When we speak of someone ‘living by faith’, the common belief is that such people ‘don’t know from where their next meal is coming’. But the Bible’s description of ‘faith’ is one of certainty. This is the difference between simple Hope and Faith. Faith is the substance, reality and certainty of things hoped for (Heb.11:1). The phraseology could equally be expressed as “living in the reality of the ‘effect’ before the ‘cause’ happens”.

“What is heaven like?” Could I suggest that heaven is “perpetual life by faith”. Perhaps I should say that “living by faith is a foretaste of living in heaven”.

Lord, when you call me to live by faith, I’m sure I don’t really appreciate the full meaning of what you are asking. Lord help me throw off the shackles of physical world imagery of you and eternity living. Fill me with your gift of faith so that I can look forward to this life and eternity with excitement, expectation and certainty.

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