How do Christians who believe that eternal life begins now explain the fact that Christians die?

Many Christians believe that eternal life begins now. For example, in the article [The Destiny: Eternal Life](https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-destiny-eternal-life) , John Piper states: > **In believing we have eternal life NOW, not just in the future**. > > In John 5:24 Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life [not "will have" but "has"—now!], and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." **In other words eternal life is not something you wait for after death. It is something you have NOW if you are believing in Jesus**. > > Believing is the link that unites us with the life of God in Christ now. **If we have Christ, we have his life now. And his life is eternal**. The gotquestions article [What is eternal life?](https://www.gotquestions.org/what-is-eternal-life.html) reaches a similar conclusion: > It is a mistake, however, to view eternal life as simply an unending progression of years. A common New Testament word for “eternal” is aiónios, which carries the idea of quality as well as quantity. In fact, eternal life is not really associated with “years” at all, as it is independent of time. Eternal life can function outside of and beyond time, as well as within time. > > **For this reason, eternal life can be thought of as something that Christians experience *now***. **Believers don’t have to “wait” for eternal life, because it’s not something that starts when they die. Rather, eternal life begins the moment a person exercises faith in Christ**. It is our current possession. John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” Note that the believer “has” (present tense) this life (the verb is present tense in the Greek, too). We find similar present-tense constructions in John 5:24 and John 6:47. The focus of eternal life is not on our future, but on our current standing in Christ. If eternal life is something that Christians experience *now*, then how is this reconciled with the fact that Christians die for multiples reasons (e.g. car accidents, diseases, natural disasters, etc.)? If Christians have eternal life now, why do Christians die? ________ **Note**: what do I mean by "eternal life" (for scoping purposes)? That's a tricky question. I don't adhere to a set-in-stone definition of *eternal life* (just yet), so I'm open to any definitions as long as answerers accept the following two premises: - A human being is born lacking eternal life (no one has eternal life by "default", although I'm open to exceptions for children/babies). - A human being, by believing in Jesus (at some specific moment X in their life), obtains *eternal life*. In other words, *eternal life* has to be defined such that it is a gift that the believer receives at the moment they believe. Prior to that moment they didn't have eternal life, and after that moment they do. ________________ **Note 2**: I'm also open to answers from people that believe that salvation can be lost.