Back in 2015, a friend lent me her 2/23 issue of TIME, a magazine I don’t think I’d even glanced at for a decade and hadn’t read seriously for 40 years. But this issue intrigued me, because the cover featured an adorable infant and the headline:
THIS BABY COULD LIVE TO BE 142 YEARS OLD:
Dispatches from the Frontiers of Longevity
How interesting, I thought. Our Creator said in Genesis 6:3 that 120 years will be our maximum lifespan; TIME implies that He was probably mistaken.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time that this magazine challenged His declarations. After all, it was TIME that famously asked, in 1966, “Is God Dead?” – this in spite of His repeated assurances (in Deuteronomy 33:27, to cite just one verse) that He is eternal. I think TIME’s editors and reporters might save themselves some embarrassment if they would read the Bible once in a while, don't you?
But I digress.
So: scientists are apparently working feverishly, and spending a ton of money, in a frantic quest to extend human life. There’s a lot that could be said about this activity, but I’d simply like to ask these “longevity pioneers” just two questions:
I just don’t get it. Why would you want to live to be 142, or even 120, on this earth? Even if you remained in great health until the very last day, what would all that extra time buy you? Another 4,000 rounds of golf? Five more Packer Super Bowl victories? The opportunity to see your great great great great grandchildren?
Whatever you might add to that list, I’d have to ask “So what? What conceivable difference would it make in the long run?”
Because when all is said and done, eternity is the only timeframe that matters.
“Happily ever after” is the only rational goal.
And the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing you need to know in order to get there.
THIS BABY COULD LIVE TO BE 142 YEARS OLD:
Dispatches from the Frontiers of Longevity
How interesting, I thought. Our Creator said in Genesis 6:3 that 120 years will be our maximum lifespan; TIME implies that He was probably mistaken.
Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time that this magazine challenged His declarations. After all, it was TIME that famously asked, in 1966, “Is God Dead?” – this in spite of His repeated assurances (in Deuteronomy 33:27, to cite just one verse) that He is eternal. I think TIME’s editors and reporters might save themselves some embarrassment if they would read the Bible once in a while, don't you?
But I digress.
So: scientists are apparently working feverishly, and spending a ton of money, in a frantic quest to extend human life. There’s a lot that could be said about this activity, but I’d simply like to ask these “longevity pioneers” just two questions:
- If you think this life is all there is, then what difference does it make how long you live? In the end, you’ll be dead and gone and probably, in very short order, forgotten completely, at least in the personal sense.
- If you believe in the possibility of any sort of eternal life, why would you not put your time, energy and money into investigating it – i.e., into figuring out what that life might be, and how to make sure you'll spend it in the best possible place?
I just don’t get it. Why would you want to live to be 142, or even 120, on this earth? Even if you remained in great health until the very last day, what would all that extra time buy you? Another 4,000 rounds of golf? Five more Packer Super Bowl victories? The opportunity to see your great great great great grandchildren?
Whatever you might add to that list, I’d have to ask “So what? What conceivable difference would it make in the long run?”
Because when all is said and done, eternity is the only timeframe that matters.
“Happily ever after” is the only rational goal.
And the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing you need to know in order to get there.
RSS Feed