To define life as merely the state of existence we find ourselves in today lessens its value. How many of us struggle with health problems that cause us discomfort throughout the day? Bad vision, obesity, diabetes, heart weakness, even lack of physical coordination are traits which plague our existence. Immortality without a correction to the deterioration of our bodies would be much less desired. Surely we were not created to exist forever in a state of physical imperfection. Those who have suffered accidents and now have reduced mobility would greatly prefer to have these limitations removed, than to have to continue with them in perpetuity. Is eternal life bound to a wheelchair, compared with eternal life without the need of one, even something that can be compared? And what of those with mental disabilities? It is said when someone else is smarter than you, you do not know exactly how much smarter they are. Surely a disparity of mental abilities between one person and another was nothing that was “meant” to be. And those whose brains have been chemically altered, either by genetics or abuse, and find themselves subject to conditions like schizophrenia, bi-polar, post-traumatic stress, and psychosis would not wish to remain in these states ad-nausea. Being mentally impaired without hope of final relief and reconstruction, instead compelled to remain in this condition forever is not an act of kindness, rather it is one of torture. This begs the question, is death a temporary kindness we are granted until all these things can finally be removed from us, at His second coming. Surely life must be more than merely our present conditions.
Our cycle of life too begs examination. We are born. In this state we are completely helpless, completely dependent, with minimal cognitive abilities and almost a complete lack of physical coordination. As we grow our abilities increase. As we exercise our minds and bodies we become able to accomplish greater and greater feats. Our social interactions lead us to marry, procreate (continuing the cycle), and then to age greatly. The older we become, our minds and bodies begin to suffer from aging. Eventually we become unable to perform the physical achievements we were capable of in our youth. Over time our mental abilities can become impaired. Eventually the decay will overtake us, and should we be lucky enough, we will die of old age. Where in this process can we say “life” begins? Is the quality of our existence any less because we are no longer brand new at birth, or able to feed ourselves and go to our own bathrooms, or having just graduated from high school, or college. Are our lives incomplete until we are married, have children, turn 40, 60, or 80? At what age is the termination of our lives preferable to the continued existence of it? Our society condemns suicide as we generally view the potential of a life as having greater value than its termination. Yet our positions on suicide begin to muddle when a terminal illness is introduced, with pain that will only become greater over time, and death is a certainty anyway. Confronted with this situation in others, we begin to have sympathy. Confronted with this situation in ourselves it becomes an entirely different matter. Surely our lives were not meant to be defined by its cycle.
But let us propose as Lucifer does, that we should be able to exist and live eternally, without any mental or physical impairments, in a state of physical perfection, with nothing inherited that might cause us difficulty. Aged to the perfect age, whatever that may be, unbound to wheelchairs, daily regimens of pills, or even a pair of eye glasses or contacts. At this point our existence would only be defined by our choices, instead of our conditions. It was in this state that Adam and Eve were created. They were unbound to physical or genetic limitations or predispositions. They were free and absent any evil. It was their choices that brought evil into their existence. And with evil came pain. Evil brought death. Evil predated our original parent’s genesis; it began with the choices Lucifer made in heaven. He explored the idea of serving himself, rather than others. He became aware of his own beauty and instead of recognizing this as a gift, he came to think of it, in distinguishing terms to set himself apart from others, and eventually superior to others.
Pride and self-interest, combined with a lack of trust in the counsel and warnings of God that pursuit of these ideas would bring about the definition of pain and death led to what we know of evil today. It reached a point where war took place, the first war. It was fought in heaven itself, between Christ and His loyal angels, against Lucifer and his followers. It ended with Lucifer being cast out of heaven. War is nearly the final result of the existence of evil. The actual final result was the murder of God on a torturous cross of Calvary. What began as mere pride and self-obsession ends in killing God. Lucifer did not suffer from genetic decay or the negative predisposition of his progenitor. Lucifer was not plagued with physical infirmity, disease, or mental disability. He lives, or exists, only with his choices. He proposes this is the only fair way to exist, and you should be able to join him in this state. But his choices do affect his existence. He is now incapable of joy as you would define it, love as you would define it, peace as you would define it. Instead he takes delight in causing pain to others, death to others, suffering to others. While he is not physically infirmed, he has no problem seeing to it that others are. His mind has been irrevocably altered by his choices, to the point where killing Christ seems like a good idea. To him the death of the source of love, looks preferable. Even in a state of physical perfection, and without the predisposition of mental infirmities, this could not be defined as “life” anyone would want.
No, scripture defines “life” differently. In the gospel of John in chapter 17 and verse 3 we read Christ saying … “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Our God, our Savior, defines eternal life as “knowing the only true God” and in knowing “Jesus Christ” who the Father has sent. In this definition, the number of years a person has existed are meaningless. One could live 20 years, or 20,000, and still find they are not complete in their “knowledge” of God. It is the process of coming to know God, that then defines what eternal “life” truly is. It has nothing to do with our current state of existence. It is not limited by our current physical impairments nor will it be altered by removing them. We can begin to know God now, and continue to know Him, in heaven throughout eternity. We begin to know our Father God, by seeking to know Jesus Christ, His Son, and tangible example in our world today. In fact just a few chapters earlier in the gospel of John, in chapter 14 and verse 6 he records Christ saying … “no man comes to the Father, but by me.” It is impossible to approach the throne of perfection without the intercessor of our Savior Jesus Christ. Our minds, our choices, our physical limitations are all things that must be recreated by Christ in order for us to be in harmony with God. Like Lucifer, our lives have been warped by our choices to embrace evil. We do not see clearly. We do not want the right things. We think bad things are good ideas, until the disease of evil can be removed from our minds. It is then we can begin to come to God and not find ourselves seeking for rocks to fall on us to shield us from His glory and perfection. When brought into harmony with God by the saving work of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves at peace with God, and in sync with His desires, plans, and intentions. But this work must be done in us, and by Christ. We do not perform it ourselves, by the power of our wills, or by the number of our good deeds. It is a work of recreation that only a creator God can and will do. “Life” then is defined as the process of coming to know both Jesus Christ and His Father who sent Him. Outside of this definition, existence is meaningless.
But if “life” is defined as coming to know God, what distinguishes my life from yours, or any other? Is there a difference between us and does it have meaning? First begin by accepting that time has no relevance in our general definition of life. Christ spoke of “eternal” life, that is to say life without end. The process of knowing God is gradual and unending, not immediate and definitive. How could one possibly hope to know all there is to know about a God who is NOT stagnate. Our God creates. We are a living example of the fact that God’s love finds new ways to express itself. Lucifer might have thought he knew everything there was to know about God, but our introduction to the universe, proved that theory wrong. The existence of humanity stands as a reminder that our God creates. As such we may come to know a definitive body of information on say for example our moon, or our solar system, or perhaps even our galaxy as taught by Christ Himself in the eons of time we spend together in heaven, but our vast accumulation of knowledge is a drop in the bucket of our universe at large. Who knows how many other sentient species exist beyond the sight of our eyes, and how long it might take to come to know God better by understanding them all. Just to understand our God through His creation of angels may take millennia. To know God through the personal recollections of Moses could take years, and years for him to learn of God through my personal experiences. Even if somehow we were to catch up our knowledge base with everything that exists today, perhaps as the angels have done, the idea that our God creates should give us pause that the process of knowing Him will ever reach a conclusion. And perhaps vice versa?
How many of us think we truly “know” our spouse or significant other? It seems that no matter how well we know them, or how long, people find a way to surprise us. It is because as we grow, age, and have experiences that influence us. We become altered by what we encounter. It affects our thinking, our desires, and ultimately who we are. Take for example the first encounter a young child may have with chocolate ice cream. Prior to this first experience, a verbal description seems hardly adequate. But upon tasting it for the first time, either a like or dislike is formed, and we decide whether we wish to repeat this experience or not. Your spouse probably knows whether you like chocolate ice cream or not, but how many experiences are you yet to have where it comes to foods you have never tried? And so how many more preferences might you develop over a 30 year period of time, let alone in the perfection of heaven over countless ages, with ingredients native to an entire universe to sample. And this is just an example as it has to do with diet, a small facet of who we are. The same holds true of poetry, art, music, and philosophy. It holds true with how a person loves, each unique, each of value. It holds true with talents and aptitudes. Our uniqueness is born of a creator God who saw to it, that no two of us would ever be completely alike. Even identical twins are distinguishable from each other, in looks though the differences may be slight, as well as in character where despite commonality, a unique person emerges. Not only is this true in our age, but it stands true across the ages. We are unique constructions from Adam till now, and for any generations that remain; each with unique traits, and physical appearances.
Our uniqueness then is not random, but by design. And if our uniqueness is by design, then purpose is implied as well. Purpose that was uniquely intended for each of us, outside of the constructs and limitations of time as we know it; purpose intended not only for the life we know in this world, but for a life defined as getting to know God outside of the limitations we see in this one. Each life has meaning. Each life is unique, not just for here, but for all time. As individuals we are created with singularity, where a unique existence was the plan all along. God is not happy, that “many” seek Him out, and begin to learn of Him. He would be happy only if “ALL” did so. To lose even one lost sheep, or one lost soul, brings to Him a sadness only a creating God could fully appreciate. To have to part with a child who refuses to ever come home again, to have to lose a child because to include him would mean he would cause harm to all your other children and himself, is to know a pain that only our God knows. It is so with each one of us, who in our diseased state chooses to remain diseased with evil. We are not casually discarded because His intent for us goes unmet in just this life. No, His intentions for us extend well beyond this mortal existence, we were meant for something more that extends into eternity. But too many refuse to ever see it. They reject the notion they are diseased at all, thinking evil is but a simple choice that they could choose to forego (but never do). They reject the idea that we need the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and His re-creative work within us; instead they think we can find “god” by any means of our choosing. They reject the idea that the Bible was given to us for our redemption, picking and choosing what values they might accept in order to find “god”. In so doing, they reject the method of our re-creation, and the knowledge of both Jesus Christ, and His Father who sent Him. They remain diseased and lost, refusing the only viable escape from the disease and pain of evil. And the universe will feel the void of their loss forever.
Think of it this way, many of us are musicians, and some composers. Each new song written and performed brings a new joy for some. While we may greatly appreciate a composer say Mozart for example, it does not preclude our appreciation for Beethoven, or Bach as well. Our world would be a lesser place if Beethoven had never existed, or chosen to write his many symphonies and concertos. Our world would not be at an end because of this loss, life would not cease to exist because of it, but there would be less beauty in it. An appreciation of the works of just one man makes a difference to all. Countless thousands, maybe millions, have enjoyed hearing his works. We are better off because he lived, and wrote, and seemingly fulfilled his purpose here on earth. Upon arriving in heaven, perhaps Beethoven was meant to write thousands more symphonies, perhaps one just for you. Perhaps in the perfection of heaven, with his hearing restored to a level he may never have known, his compositions will become greater and greater such that symphony number 10,000 will make symphony number 9 look like a child’s nursery rhyme. Imagine the loss to the universe at large because Beethoven chooses to reject his own salvation and remain diseased until his final cessation of existence. How much better would the universe at large have been, blessed with his eternal fulfillment of his unique existence. And it may still be so with Beethoven, only God knows. But there are those of us who remain still in the valley of decision, who have not yet decided to accept the gift God offers us through His only Son. It is we who remain the lost sheep. It is we who the universe will miss, if we remain rejecting the only method of our redemption and restoration. A loss that will go unfulfilled for all time. It is why each of us is so important to God, because each of us is eternally unique. Each of us was intended to get to know our God in a one-to-one manner as only each could. All come through Christ, but all get to know Him individually, not as a corporate group, under a corporate umbrella. He knows you as a distinct person, you will come to know Him in the same way. And your unique perspective of God will be something to add to everyone else’s unique perspectives, making the picture more complete.
“Life” that is to say the only existence of worth, is defined in personally getting to know our Creator God without the constraints of time, or physical or mental limitations. We begin our life here, in our present state, and we continue it in heaven in a more perfected state. Our choices are eternally bent towards love of others instead of love of self, as we see demonstrated in our God Himself. Our knowledge is never quite complete as we are always growing, and He will always be a Creator. Our purpose is unique to each of us, always in fulfillment, always finding more to fulfill – a perfect state of bliss that never finds boredom, monotony, or lack of direction. “Life” is not defined by our state of being within this world, but in the terms that have meaning well beyond it. Therefore the momentary interruption of death carries no sting that lasts. Death itself is a concept with a shelf life that will one day no longer be relevant. Only those who refuse His gift will one day cease to exist forever, but those who begin a life here on earth, beginning to know Jesus Christ, and His Father, will see and experience an existence that is beyond our ability to describe. Those who rest in the Lord will one day awaken as if only asleep for seconds, to a life, an existence that has no end, and a joy that is beyond all measure. It is this we were intended for at our creation, and this that our Lord wants to begin re-creating in us today. We have only to allow Him to begin the process of re-creation right here and right now. It is life that awaits us.
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