First John five 11 and 12 reads like this: This is the testimony that God has given us eternal life and this life is in his son. He who has the son has life. He who does not have the son of God does not have life.
John begins verse 11 with the statement: This is the testimony, He is making a proclamation. John is saying, what I have to say here is based on some important experiences I’ve had with God. So, this is John’s testimony: God’s given us eternal life. Eternal life is life now and into the forever future. It is an eternal thing, but we have a beginning. We are not eternal. Eternal life can only come from an eternal being. In order to have eternal life, we must share in God’s life (take hold of it, or be taken hold of by it). God is inviting us take hold and share in His life, and John states that this life comes through his son.
He who has the son, has life, he who does not have the son of God, does not have life. Simply stated, God, through his son, offers us life, and when you and I embrace it, he invades our life. This invasion is similar to the process an only child goes through when she experiences life with a new baby brother. The only child thinks, I had 100% of mom and dad – and then – because of this intrusion – all of a sudden I have a quarter of mom and dad (when I’m lucky). The child has to make an adjustment because there is an invasion – an intrusion – in the family system. When you and I grab hold of Jesus and we experience eternal life. There is an intrusion into our life that we might not expect. It’s an intrusion on our value systems, how we understand our marriages, how we understand our parenting, how we understand our political space, how we understand what we do and say at work, how we understand ourselves.
This value system of eternity, of the kingdom, presses in on us – just like that fourth friend encroaches on your perfect triad of friends – it disrupts everything. The Intrusion forces us to make adjustments. It’s rough on us. God’s value system is uncomfortable and difficult to handle, because His very presence in our life invites us to remove a whole set of ways of understanding reality from our lives. I would argue that this is a paradigm shifting process, and we don’t like it (even though we think that eternal life is the only place where meaning can be found). I believe that the only way that you and I can begin to accept and embrace the intrusion of the living God, through Jesus, is to get together with other people who’ve been intruded on – and see – if we can work it out – see if we can begin to adjust to the intrusion of LIFE.
