Adrian Rogers once said if you鈥檙e born once, you鈥檒l die twice but if you鈥檙e born twice, you鈥檒l die once.听 By dying twice, he meant a physical and then a spiritual death (Revelations 21:8); and born twice means you鈥檙e physically born and then spiritually born, and if so, you鈥檒l die only a physical death and at that point, you鈥檒l receive eternal life.听
听鈥淏lessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy has given us new birth into the living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into a heritage that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away.鈥� (1 Peter 3-5).
听John 10:10 says, 鈥淚 have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.鈥�
John 4:14 says, 鈥淏ut whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water gushing up into eternal life鈥�!
听鈥淢an was made to be thirsty! The more we drink of Christ, the more we become thirsty,鈥� says Sister Dominika P. from Spring 2011 College Age Conference in Wales. 鈥淲e can drink and eat Him in such a simple and easy way by calling on His name, reading His word, and by prayer. We have to enlarge our capacity, and we need to be full of Christ!鈥�
听Sister Dominika continues, 鈥淗e is such a Wonderful Person 鈥� and He lives inside of us! In John 14:6 it says, 鈥楯esus said to him, I am the way and the reality and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.鈥� Oh what a Christ have we!
听鈥� only through Christ 鈥� He is the connection between God and man. The most amazing fact to me is that Jesus has come into us through such a process 鈥� through death and resurrection 鈥� so that we may contain Him in our spirit, and we may enjoy His riches everyday! Oh, He is sweeter than the wine! May the Lord give us more light every day so we can come to Him with open hearts to receive His grace.鈥�
听As enunciated so well by Sister Dominika, Christ enlivens us and lives in us through the Word in our hearts and the light in our souls! 鈥淎nyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him.鈥� (John 14:23).
听The Eucharist is the life within us that will never die! The Eucharist gives us life, Christ鈥檚 life. And that life is eternal. That part in us will never die! 鈥淲hoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in that person 鈥�.听 Anyone who eats this bread will live forever.鈥� (John 6:56, 58).
听The Eucharist is the culmination of the life of Jesus Christ as he moved from his birth to the cross. It is Christ鈥檚 plan to be with us, to be food for our journey as we go on our pilgrim way toward heaven.
听When we awake on the other side, we will have with us the life of the Spirit as it has grown in us. We will take love with us, our good works, and the joy of our birth into life. That is what makes joy in this life a choice we can make.
