Believe

Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. John 6. 47

According to etymologists, the word believe  means "to give one's heart to" originating from the German word "belieben" which means "to be loved." Doesn't that give a bit of a different twist to "whoever believes"? Whoever is loved has eternal life might be a good translation of the statement above. That definition takes away a qualification for eternal life, instead making eternal life the continuation of the gift of love. Other etymologies of believe include to care and desire, again signifying the gifts that come with eternal life.

Now this is a bit of a rabbit hole, I know, but more and more as I bump into unorthodox translations of words I have used my whole life, I find my way out of the rabbit hole of misunderstanding and moving more and more into an understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven, here and now and in life eternal.