…so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Summary: The difference between life and life that is “truly life” is stark, but we can only see it if we look at life the way Jesus sees it.
One of the things about the Bible that I find fascinating is the depth of meaning behind the words. When Paul writes “the life that is truly life,” he is referring to something that is either blindingly obvious or stunningly opaque. Whether you see it or not depends entirely on your relationship with God.
Adam and Eve faced the same conundrum. They had the “life” that was “truly life,” but didn’t appreciate it (the same was true for ancient Israel). Jesus explains what Paul means in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
In the parable, a man has two sons. One demands his inheritance early, before his father even dies, and takes off for the Big City. He squanders his money and becomes destitute. The father, meanwhile, is mourning the loss of his son. From his perspective, the son is “dead” (vs 24, 32).
Do you see the conundrum? The son is still “alive,” but he is separated from the father. To the father, the son is “dead.”
When the son realizes that he is facing death, he decides to return home, not as a son but as a servant. He apparently realizes that he has given up any claim to sonship. He starts for home, but before he even arrives, his father sees him and meets him on the road (v 20). At this point, the father announces that the son who was dead is now alive (v 24).
The son who was “dead” was never really “dead” in the story. Yet, until he returned to a relationship with his father, he was considered dead.
We are no different from the prodigal son in the story.
If we do not acknowledge our Father in heaven, we are “dead” to him. If we do, we become “alive” with the life that is “truly life.”
God knows that we cannot make it back to him on our own, so he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to meet us on the road. If you haven’t already, get to know Jesus. He will change your life from one that is “dead” to one that is ‘truly alive.’
Application: True life is found in Jesus.
Food for Thought: How do we know if we have taken hold of “true life” or not?
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