Friday, April 11, 2008

Live Forever? - April 11, 2008

Good Friday morning! We are covered with snow out here. The snow continued all through yesterday and accumulated a pretty fair amount. Praise the Lord for a good snow! Do you and I have the strength to endure in this life? Is life so good that we will give everything to live forever on this earth? We know by now that the answer is "no" to both questions. This life is a struggle that grows more difficult with each passing day. However, the Lord gives us His strength to endure, and the promise of life eternally with Him. As I look out onto the new fallen snow, I also realize that weeds lay underneath that white blanket. The weeds and grass are already hosting insects, both benign and harmful, even at this early stage of spring. What looks perfect in this world is in fact flawed, stained by sin and doomed to die. The most fit and attractive bodies are battlegrounds of death and disease when viewed up close. The beautiful mountains are best viewed from a distance. Forests that appear so lovely turn out to be war zones where everything is caught up in the struggle to grow or die. Stay here? Why would someone strive for that?

This world is not our home, and this life is not what God has prepared for our eternal destiny. Those who rush about seeking to live longer, taking supplements and reading self-help books, are cleaning up a sinking vessel. There is certainly nothing wrong with taking care of our bodies, but we should avoid the worship of the self that this world teaches. Get in shape, lose weight, strengthen your body, and praise God for His mercy and grace while you do it. I am working on that myself, but always remember that our home is not here on this earth. Our salvation lies in Jesus Christ, and not in attempting to achieve our own immortality in a fallen world.

Can you tell that the story of the man seeking his own immortality has disturbed me? That is such a sad tale. He may achieve his goal; he is a wealthy and intelligent man. However, what will he have accomplished? He may become immortal on a world that is doomed. The immortal rat chained to the mast of a sunken ship. No thanks, I will believe in Jesus!

Bucky

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