_“I write...to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”(I John 5: 13)_
Once Kay Arthur asked a Roman Catholic nun to come to Reach Out ministry. But she said, “You are Protestant and I am Catholic, and if I come, will you try to convert me?” Kay said, “No I am not going to convert you. I am simply going to teach you about God’s Word.” So she came. But the next day, the nun told Kay, “I just don’t belong here. You are all different here. I don’t fit. I have got to go home.” Kay said to her, “Before you go home, let me ask you a question. Suppose you were to die and stand before God and He would ask you, “Why should I let you into heaven? What would you say?” The nun said, “I have given You thirteen years of my life and You have to let me in.” Kay replied, “That’s the wrong answer. You cannot say to God that He must let you into heaven because of what you have done for Him” and Kay invited her to read I John. The first two verses of I John say that the eternal life was with the Father and then was manifested to us - it was seen and heard and felt and then it was proclaimed. This eternal life was a Person - Jesus. Then in Chapter 5 verse 13, John says, that those who believe in the name of Jesus the Son of God, have eternal life. This epistle reveals to us that those who believe in Jesus as the Son of God will not have eternal death but eternal life when they die. It separates the “sayers” from the “doers”. Those who say that have eternal life, and those who really do. For instance, the catholic nun had gone through rigorous training. She had served the Lord for thirteen years. She said that she had eternal life but later after the Bible study, she found out she did not. Then she received Jesus, the Eternal Life and she was transformed.
Dear friends, I am not saying that if you are a Catholic that you don’t have eternal life. I am saying, “You may be a Catholic or Protestant, Jew or Gentile, it does not depend on the church or denomination to which you belong. It depends on whether you have fellowship with Jesus. Fellowship is sharing in common your lives to Jesus. It is sharing in Jesus Christ’s life. Jesus in you and you in Jesus. You may be a Protestant but if Christ is not in you, you do not have eternal life. Do you have Christ living in you?
*PRAYER*: Heavenly Father, my entry into heaven does not depend on whether I am a Catholic or a Protestant, or to which denomination I belong. If Christ is in me, I have eternal life. I cannot suffer eternal death. Since I have a ticket to heaven, You will not deny entry. Thank you Lord. Amen.
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