Have you noticed how there seems to be a major focus today on trying to extend our lives? Just do an Internet search on this idea and you’ll find countless articles. For example, I saw one website that said if you simply laugh more often you will live longer. The reason I’ve been thinking about this is because I recently saw a TV commercial advertising that if you simply take their pill you will allegedly prolong your life.
My reaction to all this is that it is absolute baloney that you can extend your life. Some of you may disagree with me and that’s fine. But I think the Bible is clear on this topic. Psalm 139:16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” God has ordained and predetermined the exact number days I’m going to live.
To be clear: I certainly believe I can do things to affect the quality of my life, just not the quantity. I’m not at all suggesting that we shouldn’t eat right, exercise, or take medicine. Furthermore, I love to laugh; I think it’s highly therapeutic to laugh early and often. All of this stuff has an important place; I’m simply stating that none of this will actually make your life on this Earth a day longer than what God ordained. The length of our days on Earth is up to God, not a pill advertised on TV.
Even if this idea of prolonging life is true, this still does not taking into account how fragile and delicate life is. There are countless examples that could be given here; the horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon comes to mind. But I think we can look no further than driving from point A to point B every day. I think about my own time behind the wheel. Every day I travel on an interstate to go to my job. The speed limit on that interstate is 55 miles an hour. I think we take for granted just how fast that is. Think about it. At that speed, one wrong move and there can easily be a fatal accident (even if one doesn’t choose to exceed the posted speed limit). Or consider driving in snow. This is something that people who live in Colorado as I do contend with regularly. The chance for fatalities in snowy weather is great.
James says, “Now, listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on in business, and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (verses 13-15).
Kevin
“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” – Psalm 90:12
As my regular readers know, it was on this day, back in 1982, that God healed me from seizures! On that April day, I was in the hospital, and for some reason, I flat-lined. Three minutes later, God intervened, and breathed life into me. After all this, the seizures stopped and, after all these decades, they have not returned. Praise the Lord!
Some may respond to what I’ve said by saying, “People flat-line all the time and return to the land of the living. Why do you credit this to God?” Because the Bible says that it is God who gives life and breath to the inhabitants of the Earth (Isaiah 42:5). The Bible teaches us that life itself is a gift from the benevolent hand of God. I just wanted to take a moment to record (as I do every year), my thanks and praise to God for what He did for me.
But as grateful as I am for my healing as a baby, I’m even more grateful that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me (and for all of humanity). I’m grateful that, at age 6, I was able to accept the simple message that every man and woman is a sinner in need of a Savior. We cannot atone for our sin; but Jesus – fully God and fully man – atoned for the sin of mankind on the cross. Through faith and trust in Him alone, we can actually have a personal relationship with the God of the universe. I became a Christian that day and it is the best decision that I’ve ever made.
One of my favorite verses is 2 Corinthians 5:15: “And he [Jesus] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” I want to live the rest of my life for God, not just because He spared my life as a baby, but primarily because He died on the cross for my vile, repugnant sin.
Kevin
Recently, I purchased the video game “Super Paper Mario” for a good price. I have to say it: this is a fantastic game. In one level, Mario accidentally breaks an expensive vase in a mysterious castle. He is forced to remain there and work as a slave until he has accumulated enough currency to pay the owner back. I had never seen Mario in such a predicament before. But don’t worry: Mario is able to escape the clutches of his debt by the end of the level.
It struck me that this is what many people try to do with God. The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). I think many people can see the undeniable reality of their sin, and so they try to build up a credit of good works and hope that this will be enough to earn forgiveness from God. In the game, Mario converses with other people who were also forced to work in the castle. One person expresses a sentiment of hopelessness to Mario. He states that he will never see his girlfriend again. Indicating that he can never work long enough or hard enough to pay off the massive amount of debt he owes.
This speaks to the absolute futility of trying to pay God off with good works. To put it bluntly: it’s not going to happen. The book of Isaiah tells us that our good works are as filthy rags in God’s sight. Please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not for a moment suggesting that good works are not important. Adrian Rogers once stated that we aren’t saved by good works but for good works. Doing good works are quite important; but the reality is, no one can ever do enough good works, no one can ever earn enough spiritual brownie points to procure salvation and forgiveness from our sins.
This is where the good news of the gospel comes in. Like Mario, we all have broken the expensive vase. We are all, in a sense, in debt to God because of our sin. But out of His great love, God sent Jesus Christ to us. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty and the price for all of humanity’s sin. I once heard the late D. James Kennedy say that all the world religions say “do” to get rid of sin; but only Christianity says “done.” Christ has already done the work on the cross. Acts 10:43 says, “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” All one has to do is simply believe in Jesus; that is, choose to put their faith, reliance, and trust in Jesus alone to save them.
Kevin
