Hupostasis Produces Homeostasis

Our text today is John 6:47: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has eternal life." We know that, right? The familiar is often dismissed, and the profound is missed. Within this one statement by Jesus is the key to all existence. It is what the world needs, and really wants, but too easily misses. Eternal life is quality of life, not mere quantity. From my morning coffee made to my exact specifications, to my Pandora music selections, to the temperature in the room, to the baby aspirin I swallowed, to socks on my feet to keep off the morning cold, I seek to order my life in a myriad of ways to achieve quality of life. Most of these are fairly innocent, but all put together with many other avenues, some not so innocent, I am seeking to create a "life" that is free from pain, worry, discomfort, want, and need so that I can have well-being. Temporal life seeks to replicate eternal life. However it is like trying to replicate human life by carving out the figure of a person in stone. It might look life-like, but it has no real substance of life.

I remind us that eternal life is about knowing the Father and the Son (John 17:3). But, most of us tend to think of eternal life as an "unlimited" supply of something. Our list might include such things as unlimited money, sex, stuff, vacation time, friends, calories, time,  and achievements, all without any negative consequences or moral impediments. Wow! That would be IT! That would be real living, right? We surely think so. But, then some of us reach a point when we figure it out, and we seek to find quality of life in downsizing. We start getting rid of some things. We seem to be somewhat selective. We give stuff away. We diet. We may give up on sex. We reduce our friends to those who don't tax us. We lose our desire to cure cancer or climb Everest. We find a sense of contentment in the cup of morning coffee and the sunrise. This might be simpler, but it has its own deception. "More" and "Less" is not the key to quality of life.

Jesus says believing in Him is the key. Faith is qualitatively different than "more or less" living. Faith knows it is not about how much I can get or how much I can give away. Faith doesn't focus on self at all. The object of faith is Jesus. It is the upward look, not the inward or outward. Those will follow when we look up to Jesus. Faith is fueled by His words and His life. If you look in Hebrews 1:3 and 11:1 you will find a word, hupostasis, translated substance or nature. It is the ground of being. It it that which stands under everything and holds everything up-the only thing with true substance. The nature of God and faith are the only two substantive things that exist. This hupostasis leads to homeostasis, eternal life, well-being, quality of life. It is the only place it can be found. This is what Jesus is trying to tell us. Simple? No profound!