Originally written for Shepherd of the Ridge Lutheran Church, apply these ideas to your local context.

As people live longer, we continue to strive for greater health advances and more longevity. Some futurists even suggest that a lifespan of 200 or more years may become the norm to those born within a few decades. In a recent episode of the Today Show (Sorry–I can’t find a link to the clip), a researcher suggested that the human DNA has no “death gene” and so, by eliminating disease and accidents, life expectancy can extend toward a thousand years. This lack of a “death gene” sounds a bit simplistic, but at the same time, it doesn’t surprise me.

God created human beings for immortality. Had Adam and Eve avoided the temptation to disobey God regarding the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3), we would all live forever on this world. That our genetic structure seems to reflect this just confirms what we’ve known for thousands of years. It also shows the distinct possibility that our bodies after the final resurrection may well be very similar in composition to their current composition, except that it will lack the corruption that causes us to die–which is something called “sin,” a spiritual condition that modern microscopes can’t see.

But while we’d all certainly like to be healthier, and while we treasure life because it’s a gift from God, we need not incessantly pursue an escape from death. When Jesus died on the cross, He conquered death once and for all. He submitted Himself to death to turn it inside-out, and His resurrection proved that death cannot overcome the Lord of Life. Although Jesus raised Lazarus from death, Lazarus died again years later, but one day, He will raise Lazarus, you, and me to live forever, free from sin and free from death forever.