The day I had this epiphany, that my eternal life began the day I professed faith in Christ, was a day of such immense joy! It totally revolutionized my view of time and myself within and beyond time now! It was a transforming and transcending mental snatching of me out from being “of the world” to being “in the world but no longer of it.” It was the beginning of my understanding of the Kingdom of God being HERE, now-and-yet-still-becoming. Thank you, JD, for helping make the Word and Spirit such vibrant witnesses to the new vision of reality, time, and space to awakening eyes.
This personal kind of “eternal life”epiphany makes me think of the shepherds who ran to Bethlehem’s manger, Simeon’s proclamation at Jesus’ dedication in the Temple, the excitement of the woman at the well, the centurion’s realization at the foot of the cross, the experience of the 2 disciples from Emmaus, of Mary Magdalen at the tomb garden, of Thomas as he touched Christ, of Paul after the Damascus Rd with Ananias as the scales fell from his eyes…… and so many more since His miraculous Incarnation and that wonderful original Resurrection Day. The only word I have to describe it is “AWE!” I do know that once one experiences it, there is no more doubt about Christ or eternal life or even fear of death. There may be doubt about my own ability to comprehend God’s will and ways, about my ability to live as fully as Christ calls me to in eternal life in this temporal realm, about my strength to complete the race well and be His witness in any way other than by leaning always and only on Christ and His Holy Spirit’s presence. I know that when that epiphany comes to a person, everything changes in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, and no matter where you are or who you are with, one is never the same. To me, THAT is the experience of “rapture” for which many watch and yearn. It happen’s everyday for many as Christ reveals Himself to them. Those who experience it know that and they watch and listen to observe Christ making Himself known further and alive to more and more people in His Word, by His Spirit, in circumstances and in institutions like marriage, families, churches, schools, communities, governments, nations….. alive today in one more…..and one more….and one more……until the whole world knows.