Scripture for Today: I John 5:11 “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

I had no idea that there is a National Punctuation Day!  It was established in 2004 and since then has been celebrated every September 24th.  The idea is to promote correct usage of punctuation.  The founder encourages people to send in pictures of everyday errors they encounter.  A rich source is maybe the Facebook news feed!  Without strategically placed commas, one can say some pretty outrageous things!

I recently heard a pastor use punctuation marks to describe life.  Because of eternal life in Christ, the believer does not end his life with a period.  It is not over.  There is more.  The life of the believer ends with a comma.  It is just a brief pause as he crosses over to his eternal home.  His life continues on and in fact, the period never even makes an appearance!

Eternity is the only way to make sense of life.  God has set eternity in the human heart. (Eccl.3:11)  We long for it to be true and there is something deep inside us that hopes that it is.  When we see a life cut short, when we grieve over the early death of an innocent child, we know that cannot be all there is.  And we are right!

Today’s verse tells us that we can know we have eternal life.  God does not keep us wondering.  He assures us that this life is found in His Son, Jesus.  We can know because He said it.  We can know because He promised.  What Christ did on that cross made possible a relationship that continues on into eternity!

Thank you Lord, that death is not the end.