Eternal life is not a prize God awards to those who have done the right thing or believed the right thing. It is the result of our trusting and loving God enough to allow him so to link his life to ours that he pulls us into the realm of eternity. God is an infinite lover constantly on the make but even he cannot establish intimacy with the man or woman who steadfastly refuses it, who is too proud or frightened or mistrustful or pretentious to accept it. The dynamic of faith is love. Love is the longing for God which precedes faith and the joy that results from it.
Love is the bridge between mortality and eternity.
We discover it without ourselves and allow it to surface and act. Love is not a work. But love produces works. Love must act as fire must burn. Genuine love of God inevitably leads to love of neighbor and is evidenced in deeds of kindness.