Eternity and Infinity, Part 3

Eternity and Infinity, Part 3

For God so loved the world that (God) gave (God’s) only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. John 3:16 (NRSV)

Just as the concepts of infinity and eternity are poorly understood and beyond concrete description, so the concept of eternal life has become. There is a lot of talk in some church circles about where we will spend eternity when we die – whether we will receive a one-way ticket to eternal bliss or to eternal damnation. As the story goes, once that determination has been made, there is no possibility for reconsideration, reconciliation, or reversal of fortunes. One would think that such dire and irreversible consequences would be a major and oft-repeated subject in the Bible, but it is not. In fact, the topic of or speculation about life after death is seldom mentioned. Rather, when scripture describes something in eternal terms it is usually a reference either to a lengthy (but limited) amount of time or to an unusually intense experience. We use it in similar ways today, as in suffering that seems to last for an eternity. Eternity does not, however, refer to a never-ending extension in time. Remember, the Bible is largely a collection of stories about a God who continually pursues disobedient and sinful people and who forever offers second (third, fourth, fifth, and more) chances to do better. How would that God ever decide to limit our forever options to two? It seems likely that the bipolar, unchangeable, unending destination story is a concept invented by religious folks to control human behavior more than anything supported by scripture, and certainly not by a preponderance of scripture.

John 3:16 is often quoted as a scriptural proof-text for our post-death destination – either we perish or we are granted eternal life, commonly (and recently) interpreted to mean we spend eternity in heaven or hell. The context within which John 3:16 occurs is a philosophical and theological discussion between Jesus and a member of the religious elite, Nicodemus. Although the lengthy conversation is sometimes interpreted to refer to life-after-death matters, it is actually about life-beyond-life matters, meaning about the intangible, spiritual realities of life at work here and now, which are far more determinative than the tangible, visible realities that consume most of our attention. In fact, my Bible’s commentary on the use of eternal life in this passage states: “’Eternal life’ does not speak of immortality or a future life in heaven, but is a metaphor for living now in the unending presence of God.”[1] We often forget that Jesus taught much more about how to live a Godly life in the here and now than about how to prepare oneself for whatever comes next.

The concept of eternal life is illuminated more by how we can live better and more fully in the moment than by how we should prepare for life after death. Last week I illustrated the concept of eternal life by comparing it to the water cycle. The water cycle is eternal in that it has no beginning or end. It is always present in all places, even though we can only experience pieces of it in time. Eternal life is better described in the realization that if we believe we need anything more than what is available right now to be happy, fulfilled, enlightened, or content, that we will never be happy, fulfilled, enlightened, or content. Everything we need is always present in the moment. It is only our misguided perception that convinces us that something is always lacking. Eternity and infinity collapse into any moment we decide to enter with all of our being. Otherwise, in the words of Jesus, we perish in our inability to remove our conscious attention out of the imaginary worlds of past and future and into the eternal life and infinite possibilities of the now.

There is a sense that the past runs on an endless loop, replaying the same dilemmas clothed in different cultures and technologies. Trying to find the beginnings or endings of human suffering is as fruitless as trying to find the smallest or largest numbers or the most distant galaxies. We assume we are progressing as a race, but we are only exchanging one set of clothing for another. We think because appearances change, we have matured and changed for the better. Wars, senseless violence, oppression, and lack of fairness and justice are and always have been hallmarks of human “civilization.” The names and times change, but the underlying problems remain the same. Trying to find a higher reality outside of the present is a never-ending loop of futility. We believe life will be better someday, but someday never arrives. Someday only exists now, in the infinity of the eternal moment. To get there, we must be there.

This is the 29^thin a series of Life Notes on Time, and Eternity. The opinions expressed are mine. To engage with me or to explore contemplative spiritual direction, contact me at ghildenbrand@sunflower.com.

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[1] The New Interpreter’s Study Bible (NRSV), Abingdon Press, 2003. Special Note in commentary, p. 1912.