Let's Go Back to the Bible

Time Waits for No Man…

There are many reminders of our age, like birthdays, doctor visits, aches and those pesky gray hairs. Amongst the other states, Florida is known as the place to be if you are over 65. The fabled find by Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine foreshadowed what would become a “Snowbird” state. Interesting research from a joint effort by Russia and Sweden suggests that they can slow the effects of aging by treating the part of the cell, mitochondria, that produces the power for the cell. The treatment worked with mice. So, in Russia, they have eye drops already in use to stem the effects of aging of the eyes. Those same drops have passed two clinical trials here in the U.S. Once they hit the market, people will be lining up for these drops. Would you be surprised to know that the estimated revenue of the U.S. cosmetic industry in 2016 was 62.46 billion dollars? Science has been the new fountain of youth for many years. My question to you is, would you do all you could to live longer? Would you be a part of Russian clinical trials aimed at defying the aging process?

If we examine the motivation for the extreme measures people are willing to take to live longer, we might find a healthier solution. I think the motivating factor is death. The close cousin to the love and infatuation with youth is the fear and anxiety connected with death. It is healthy and normal to take medicines and prescription drugs to maintain a normal life expectancy. It is unrealistic and unhealthy if you are booking tickets to Russia thinking you will come back looking like Dolph Lundgren from Rocky IV.

We are told that “it is appointed for men to die” (Heb. 9:27). Paul, who was a tent maker by trade, said, “For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened” (2 Cor. 5:4). Having been around and mended tents, Paul uses it as an analogy to the human body, essentially saying, “It is going to wear out.” What does a Christian have waiting for him/her after death? A place that has been prepared by God (John 14:2-3). No more hunger, thirst or scorching heat—just the presence of God (Rev. 7:15-17). We will be changed to an immortal body, and in death, we will be victorious (1 Cor. 15:52-55). I don’t see the downside. However, only the victorious in this life will be victorious over death (Rev. 21:7). Even in the passage about the tents, Paul writes, “Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God… we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:5-10). So, we have nothing to fear while living to please God. In the end, we can greet death as an old friend and not the harbinger of destruction.