Something queer is going on here

It’s often said that there are only two things certain in life: death and taxes.

But that wasn’t always true. Taxes certainly were not always around. And neither was death.

In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created as eternal beings. People say death is a natural thing. But it wasn’t always so.

As I look at this passage, it’s truly fascinating (to me anyway) how the life span of humans went down after the flood.

It’s also fascinating to see who was alive when others were alive. Noah’s son Shem, if I’m calculating correctly, lived all the way until the time of Jacob. Abraham died before Shem did.

You’ve got to wonder how Shem felt seeing his descendants dying one by one before he did.

He must’ve been wondering, “What’s going on here? Why is everyone dying before I am? Why has life become so short? Something queer is going on here.”

And there certainly was. Somehow, something had happened to people’s genetic structure that greatly shortened their life spans until we have the current lifespans of today.

Nobody likes the idea of death. It’s hard to believe that I’m nearing 40, and could very well be halfway through this life.

I already know of two guys from my high school that have passed away. Neither of them were particularly close friends, but I did know them personally. One died of a heart attack, which is especially stunning to me.

Some people try to console themselves saying it’s just a part of life. That it’s just the nature of things. But if that’s so, then why do we find ourselves rebelling against the thought?

Solomon wrote,

[God] has set eternity in the hearts of men. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

And it is so true. Try as we might, we can’t help but fight the feeling that there should be something more. That death cannot be the end. And it’s not.

Someone once said that life is like driving a car. Eventually, the car gets old and conks out. But that doesn’t mean you stop living. It just means you start living in a different reality. You’re walking instead of driving.

Well the bodies we are in are just like that car. Eventually, it’s going to get old and conk out. But that doesn’t mean you stop living. It just means you start living in a different reality.

There’s an old song that says, “If I know Jesus, I’ll live forever. If I know Jesus, I’ll never die.”

Well the truth is, it doesn’t matter if you know Jesus or not. You’re never going to die. All of us are eternal beings. The question isn’t if we’ll live forever, but where.

Are we set for eternity when our time comes? The apostle John sets forth the key to the question:

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11–12)

But not only do we need to ask this of ourselves, it’s a question we need to ask about our loved ones as well. Where will they go when their bodies go? And what are we doing to make sure that we’re all going to the same place?

As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?

And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

And how can they preach unless they are sent?

As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14–15)

Sooner or later, death comes to us all. Are your family and loved ones ready for it? Are you?