No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. All those who do evil hate the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But those who live by the truth come into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

—John 3:13-21 (TNIV)

This wonderful passage about Jesus has caused confusion for some. “If we believe in Jesus,” they ask, “then why the Christian emphasis on what we do?” The answer, of course, is in the latter part of this passage. Just as those who love the darkness will do evil, those who love Christ will do good. Real faith always produces good works and the desire to do them because we naturally want to please the One we love and who loves us and gave himself for us. But because we are weighed down by our body of sin, we will not always do what we desire (cf. Paul’s thoughts on this in Romans 7). Despite the criticisms of the enemies of the cross, our inability to love perfectly because of our sin does not negate this truth or our desire to please God. Your actions will always tell you and others where your heart is, for good or for ill.

And among all the truths [the martyrs] speak this is the most important: that Christ rose from the dead and first displayed the immortality of the resurrection in his own body, and promised that it would come to use at the beginning of the new age or (which is the same) at the end of this world.

—Augustine, City of God 22.10

Let your door stand open to receive [Jesus], unlock your soul to him, offer him a welcome in your mind, and then you will see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the joy of grace. Throw wide the gate of your heart, stand before the sun of the everlasting light that shines on every one. If you shut the door of your mind, you shut out Christ [emphasis mine]. Though he can enter, he does not want to force his way in rudely, or compel us to admit him against our will. His light is received by those who long for the splendor of perpetual light that night can never destroy. He visits those in trouble and temptation, to save them from being overwhelmed by their trials. It is the soul that has its door, its gates. Christ comes to this door and knocks; he knocks at these gates. Open to him; he wants to enter, to find his bride waiting and watching.

—Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, Explanation on Psalm 118.12-14

When the fullness of time arrived, Jesus came to free us from time. Freed from time, we will  come to eternity where time does not exist. There “today” is everlasting and is not preceded by a yesterday nor closed out by a tomorrow. This is the reason why we ought to love Jesus who created time so that we may be finally freed from time and made secure by him in eternity.

—Augustine, Commentary on the Gospel of John 31.5.3

Send out your light and your truth of spiritual knowledge, that it may shine upon the earth, barren and dry. Send down your grace from above, and with it anoint my dry heart. Give me the water of inward devotion to moisten the dryness of my soul, that it may bring forth good fruit, agreeable and pleasant to you. Raise up my mind that is sore oppressed by the heavy burden of sin, and lift up my desire to love the spiritual things, so that by a taste of heavenly joy it may loathe to think on earthly things. Take me Lord, and deliver me from the consolation of any earthly creatures which must of necessity shortly perish and fail, for there is nothing created that can fully satisfy my desires. Make me one with you in a sure bond of heavenly love, for you alone are sufficient to your lover, and without you all things are vain and of no substance.

—Imitation of Christ

O Lord, in whose hands are life and death, by whose power I am sustained, and by whose mercy I am spared, look down upon me with pity. Forgive me, that I have this day neglected the duty which Thou hast assigned to it, and suffered the hours, of which I must give account, to pass away without any endeavour to accomplish thy will, or to promote my own salvation. Make me to remember, O God, that every day is thy gift, and ought to be used according to thy command. Grant me, therefore, so to repent of my negligence, that I may obtain mercy from Thee, and pass the time which Thou shalt yet allow me, in diligent performance of thy commands, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

—Dr. Johnson’s Prayers