Southerners call it the ‘sweet by and by.’

Atheists call it a mythical delusion for the simple-minded.

Yet Jesus described eternal life much differently – as something far more expansive, engaging, even irresistible.

Perhaps most striking for Christians, is the idea that Jesus doesn’t talk about eternal life as something you’re going to get nearly as much as something you already have: ‘Whoever believes has eternal life’ (John 6).

But isn’t eternal life this joyful state of never-ending bliss? Yes and no. Eternal life is joy. It is our best, greatest, and highest experience of happiness. But this kind of joy doesn’t come from the cessation of pain, when we are in a state of total relaxation, or when we are passive. Psychologist Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi says it’s just the opposite: our, “best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.”

The joy, then, that is eternal life is a byproduct of our activity, not the aim. A focus on happiness will never lead to happiness – a focus on deeply meaningful, important, challenging, and engaging work, does.

My most meaningful work stems from those things that fulfill the purpose for which I’ve been given life. When I do the creative, sacrificial, and hard work of a good father, priest, and neighbor I experience my deepest and most fulfilling joys.

As tempting as it is to believe that we’ve reached nirvana when we are lounging on a cloud surrounded by margaritas, cigars, the Chippendales, or 70 virgins, these moments do not provide our deepest fulfillment. It’s doing the hard work, pushing ourselves, stretching and straining our minds, bodies, and spirits in pursuit of the work God has called us to do, that offer the greatest personal satisfaction.