In The Sixteenth Century, Ponce de Leon landed in Florida convinced that some where in that land he would find a fountain of eternal youth. Since then, millions have followed him to that state inspired perhaps by the same dream, but although it has many famous springs, their waters have so far failed to convey immortality.
Modern efforts to extend life
Yesterday, however, newspapers all over the world proclaimed with banner headlines: End of aging. How to never be old. Scientists discover how to stop aging in humans. According to the media, Lithuanian scientist Dr. Madalena Tarsounas, based in London, claims to be able to “protect the genetic DNA contained in cells so they can divide indefinitely,” effectively making us immortal. “This could mean,” she asserts confidently, “our skin, organs, everything in our body, do not age at all.” The BBC World Service followed with a program entitled Why do we die?, during which another scientist wagered a large sum of money that there are people alive today who will still be alive in the year 2150 (he admitted that he will have a long time to wait to get his money!).
The usual response of Bible believers is to dismiss such scientific research. But we did this with air travel, then space travel, and then cloning. Now there are mouse factories, manufacturing genetically engineered mice by the thousand. Galileo was ridiculed for saying that the earth went around the sun. It is wise not to be hasty in judgment. Maybe young people today will live as long as Methuselah, if you can avoid accidental death. But eventually Methuselah died (Gen. 5:27). His grandson Noah also lived a very long time, but although he found grace in the eyes of the Lord and survived the flood, afterwards he got drunk and made a fool of himself. And then, sadly, he died too (Gen. 9:20-29).
True immortality available
Amazing though Dr. Tarsounas’ research is, it does not compare with the work of him whom we remember at this table. Of Jesus of Nazareth it was written two millennia ago that he abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (II Tim. 1:10). Twenty-eight centuries ago Isaiah offered the prospect of eternal youth (Isa. 40:31). The gospel truly is “good news” because it promises more than extended longevity and even more than a cure for cell decay due to the aging process. We share the bread and wine because they promise a time when our Lord, already the thankful and blessed possessor of a divine and “glorious body,” will return to “change the body of our humiliation” into one like his own (Phil. 3:21).
We do not look for longevity with cells engineered by Dr. Tarsounas and her colleagues. We look for a “celestial” body, energized by the “glory” of God (I Cor. 15:40-41). We long to shine as the stars for ever and ever (Dan. 12:3). We pray for the day when there will be “no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying.” And, in my own case, having been for eight years alongside my beloved wife in hospitals in four countries, I am comforted to know that there “shall be no more pain” (Rev. 21:4). During those years I have wept often, for many reasons, and I thrill at the amazing promise that God, yes, the Almighty Himself, will wipe away all our tears (Rev. 21:4). How wonderful it will be!
Yes, indeed, all of you who love the Lord, share this bread and this cup — until he comes.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One