May we have life
PSALM 86:1-4
Hear, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul, for I am godly. You, my God, save your servant who trusts in you. Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul.
We have a promise from God conveyed by Jesus that whosoever believes in him, those will have eternal life. The key word is life. The expressed core aim of some members of humanity is immortality on Earth, even though sometimes we bitterly acquiesce, that it looks impossible.
In order to know what we want by life, we have take a long scrutinizing look at it.
It can not be perceived in the usual way, that life begins at conception, and ends with the last breath or heartbeat or brain wave, especially when we desperately search for the possibility of immortality.
It is easy to understand, that the body is not alive without the life in it. Thus it can be a core fact, that though it looks like that the body is alive, at least for a while, the body itself is not life, in essence.
It is explicitly stated in the Book of Genesis, as well, as it is written, that “the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” So the life comes from God, and we call it the soul.
The soul is filled with the breath of life, and it is breathed into the soul by God.
Thus, God is the source of the life in the soul, God is the source of the soul, and the soul is alive, transmitting life from the source into the object.
Thus, the soul exists before the conception, which is the beginning of the forming of the biological body. When the soul enters the forming body, the soul gives life to the body. The soul is coming from the direct presence of God, and at the end the soul returns to the direct presence of God. At the very end, when the soul leaves the body, the body becomes lifeless, we may understand, that our body does not has no life in itself, only by the soul.
Before the very entering of the biological body, the soul had been already alive. After the soul leaves the body behind and the body becomes lifeless, the soul is still alive.
However, and that is the major point to ponder, when we are seeking immortality, the soul is not immortal in itself, its whole existence and its whole being, as a live entity, completely depends on God. The soul can die.
Jesus explicitly mentions the second death, which is the possible death of some ultra-wicked souls, as it is written in the Gospel of Matthew:
“Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna,” (which is the lake of fire).
The Book of the Revelation elaborates on this by saying that “But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Thus, as the soul is not completely immortal, after this life the soul will be judged whether it is worthy to enter Heaven to inherit the life eternal.
The soul survives the body, but it does not necessarily survive the judgment.
That is why, so important to take heed of the Lord, meanwhile we walk on Earth, to make it sure that we walk with Jesus, in order God preserve our souls.
Let us take a look at Zacchaeus. He was a Jewish chief tax collector for the Romans. According to the Gospel he was a sinner. A well known, public figure, a hated by all tax collector. People were quite upset seeing Jesus even just to talk to him.
Visiting his house was completely out of margin, as it was strictly forbidden even to eat together with obvious sinners, like tax collectors. Yes, Zacchaeus was a sinner, big time, but his encounter with Jesus changed his life for ever.
When, Zacchaeus repented properly, making amendments four times and more to those whom he wronged and to the general public, Jesus declared that “Today, salvation has come to this house.”
Usually we want long lives, but as the British song-maker the Queen rock band sings in their popular hit, that really, but really Who wants to live forever?
Which should mean, that who wants to live for ever physically in this world, where life could be very joyful, but it also could be a torture of just being around.
As we used to say, that when we were young often we wanted the clock to click faster. Nowadays, we say, we live day by day, often an hour by an hour, taking one thing at a time.
Thanks God, we do not really need to contemplate about immortality on Earth, because we know it from the Bible, that the Earthly years are limited in number, as it is written, that the Lord said, that “My Spirit will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; so his days will be one hundred twenty years.”
Thus, our days are limited on Earth, even though some patriarchs lived for hundreds of years. Still our bodily years are limited, and Gods law, which includes decay and entropy, makes it sure, that after the peak years, the human body gradually deteriorates and ultimately falls. It is a gift from God, for it makes us to focus instead of the body, on the soul. It should be clear that not only the body, but our souls must be nurtured as well,
because the essence of life and immortality is not here, but over there, in Heaven.
There is an ancient Greek fairy tale about a grasshopper, that “has spent the summer singing and dancing while the ant worked to store up food for winter. When winter arrives, the grasshopper finds itself dying of hunger and begs the ant for food. However, the ant rebukes its idleness and tells it to dance the winter away now.” (wikipedia)
In the Gospel Jesus gives a similar advice to the disciples, but not about the earthly harvests, but about the harvest in Heaven, right after Earth will be left behind.
As Jesus taught that “Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. Sell that which you have, and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches, neither moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” It is obvious, that Jesus meant, that we have to lay up heavenly treasures, while on Earth, in order when our time is up, or rather when our time comes, our soul will be judged as worthy to enter Heaven, gaining eternal life.
Heavenly treasures are all the good deeds we may commit ourselves to obeying God’s Commandments. It should be also understood, that without faith we can not do anything, as faith means, that whatever we do, we do it only for the sake of the Love of God, which is manifested fully in Jesus Christs, and which prevails by the Holy Spirit, AMEN.
