He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. ESVUK

The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less. The Message

John, in his gospel, has much to say about ”eternal life”. He doesn’t mean by this only ”eternal” in duration. Of course this is mind-blowingly the case. But it’s more. It is the life of heaven, planted in the heart of every believer at the moment of new birth. It’s been said that we have ‘heaven on the way to heaven’. Eternal life is not only quantity of life; it is also quality of life.

Furthermore, it is the Holy Spirit who is the ”guarantee”. He is the ‘down payment’ we might say; He is the ‘first instalment of heaven.’ We have this longing for what is to come because we are already enjoying part of the great feast. We have been given a delicious ‘starter.’