January 19 2014
January 19 2014

By

This week Slate.com ran an article entitled, “Why No One Actually Wants to Live Forever.”  Subtitle:  “It would be really, really dull.”  Let me tell you why I both totally agree AND vehemently disagree with the author, Gemma Malley.

The article is mostly about the quest to extend the human life­span.  “We’re already living for decades more than our grand­parents.”  And who knows how future medical breakthroughs could elongate lifespans decades further!  But is that what we really want?  Malley concludes, “If we were to live forever, even if we lived in perfect health every day of our lives, it wouldn’t be long, in my view at least, before we were all lying in bed in the morning wondering why we should bother to get up and get dressed.”

I can appreciate this point—given a life with no Savior and no real purpose beyond oneself.  But I cannot appreciate viewing eternal life as a bore—given that I belong to Jesus and cherish his promise of resurrection life and ever-increasing joy in his presence forever!

Malley is on to something when she points to the human drive that insists, “We cannot die—there must be some way of cheating … the system.”  What she doesn’t consider is that this will to live may be a sign of something “transcendent” about beings made in the image of God and for the ultimate satisfaction of unbroken fellow­ship with him.  C. S. Lewis contends, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

But Malley is not willing to imagine what wonders the Awesome Lord of All Things has prepared for his beloved children in the age to come, or how profoundly satisfying it would be to revel in Jesus’ presence “world without end”!  Just think:  even now he’s preparing a place for us, and Jesus will come again to gather us to be with him (John 14:3).  Just think:  No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined what the Lord has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9)!

So the next time you hear someone say they’ll take a pass on heaven (“What a dull ordeal to sit on a cloud endlessly strumming a harp”), pray that our gracious, almighty, and unbelievably amazing Lord would breathe life, eternal life, into their dead heart (Eph 2:1-5)!


Comments:

Leave a Comment

Name*
Email Help Tip
Website
Comment*
Characters Remaining: 5000
   

Archives

May 06, 2024

Children's Ministry Update, May 5, 2024

Children's Ministry Update, May 5, 2024
The twelfth chapter of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth is known for its role in encouraging the church body toward unity. Steering us away from division and partiality, this passage reminds ...
May 03, 2024

Will All Be Saved?

Will All Be Saved?
Universalism is the religious belief that all humans will, in the end, be saved.  According to this outlook, there is no eternal hell. Universalism appeals to many because it undercuts claims of ...
April 06, 2024

Children's Ministry Update, April 28, 2024

Children's Ministry Update, April 28, 2024
Acts 12 tells the story of God’s divine and miraculous rescue of His apostle Peter. While King Herod sought to make an example of Peter, it was God alone who was able to showcase His power and might ...
April 03, 2024

Let Us Sing

Let Us Sing
Our “Faith Journey” sermons brought us face to face with Job last week.  His story is breathtaking:  such vast wealth, and yet such great grief and pain!  God inspired the Book of Job to be a part ...
April , 2024

Children's Ministry Update, April 21, 2024

Children's Ministry Update, April 21, 2024
Acts 11 recounts the first time people were called “Christians” because they were recognized as followers of Jesus. In this passage, Peter was criticized by some of the believing Jews for going into ...