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You may recall the slogan that accompanies the appeal for donations to the blood bank: “Give the gift of life.” That same theme is also associated with appeals for organ donations and other kinds of support for life-saving medical interventions. The emotional attraction of this call is undeniable and hard to resist. But the stark reality is that the life that is offered is transitory and finite.
Jesus, on the other hand, makes an offer that is even harder to resist. He offers the gift of eternal life, life that is assured because it is given not by one human to another but by the source of all life, God the Creator, to all who accept it. The assurance of this gift is to be found in the very person of Jesus, whose life is shared with us.
Furthermore, Jesus lives in the Father. Therefore, we, too, live in the Father. In exchange for this extraordinary gift, the Lord asks of us only one thing: “Love one another as I have loved you.”