Psalm 29:11 – The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.

One of the greatest sources of peace that a believing man or woman of God can have is in knowing that you are saved, and that nothing can prevent you from eternal life in heaven.  It is hard for our minds, which are surrounded with finite matters, to grasp the infinite glory of eternal life.  But it does exist.  Heaven is a very real truth and the ultimate destination that we will reach once our savior Jesus Christ comes back for us.  What a joyous day that will be!

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

How can we know when we are saved and have been given eternal life?

Romans 10:9 – If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Once a person declares Jesus as Lord in their life and believes that God raised Christ from the dead, they are saved.  At this very moment, God gives us the gift of His holy spirit within and we have eternal life.

I John 3:2a – Beloved, now are we the sons of God…

We, as sons and daughters of God (the word “sons” in this scripture encompasses both men and women!) are a part of God’s family.  At the time of salvation, we are adopted by God into His eternal family, and that cannot ever be taken away.

Sometimes we may wonder what happens when we sin.  Do we lose eternal life until we confess our sins and are forgiven?  No, it does not work that way.  We may have a rift in our relationship with God when we sin, but we do not lose our state as a child of God.

Picture a father with his young son.  If the child makes a mistake, disobeys, or upsets his dad in some way, the child’s relationship with his dad may be affected until the father and son talk about the situation and forgiveness is given.  But does that situation call for the father to not recognize that the child is still his son?  Of course not!

It is the same with God.  Our relationship with Him may be affected at times in our life, and it may require forgiveness to mend the rift, but it never means that God does not recognize us as His son or daughter.  Once we are saved, our state as a child of God is permanent.  That is what brings the greatest amount of peace to our lives.

I Thessalonians 4 talks about what will happen when Jesus Christ returns for us, and verse 17 beautifully says, “…so shall we ever be with the Lord.”  We can be comforted all the days of our lives by those words, knowing that our state as a child of God truly is eternal and unbreakable. 

by Carrie Brooks