I Am Terminal

No one can live forever; all will die.  No one can escape the power of the grave. [Psalm 89.48]

I have a t-shirt that says, "Statistics prove: 5 out of 5 people die..." and it is true.  We may doubt all kinds of things, but this one thing remains constant and reliable - we will die.

A person may have a long and prosperous life and die peacefully, or he may experience a short and hard life dying in the agony of disease and pain - but it is inevitable that he will die.  All will cease to live at some point.

The exception to my statements above is found in the prophesied return to earth of Jesus Christ when He will reunite with His fold.  The Bible indicates that those (found faithful) who are alive at the occurrence of that event will pass from life straight into eternity without experiencing the gateway of death (physical).

Otherwise, all will die.

I know this is morbid, but it is reality - it is fact.  It is a harsh truth to consider that we are all, indeed, terminal.

I think we cannot fully appreciate life until we can fully appreciate death.

We speak often of "quality of life" but, in fact, all we can actually, experientially define is the "quality of death" because that is what we begin doing the moment life and "aging" begins.  It seems "life" was a momentary event that occurred when a sperm and egg were united - everything following is the process of aging and death.

Granted, some "die" with stamina and style while others "die" less gracefully, but all die - it is hardwired into the DNA of each and every living being.

What the Psalmist failed to mention in the scripture reference above however is that his statement referred only to "life as we know it" here on earth.  He did not address spiritual existence - he did not mention "life after death."  Those of us who adhere to Biblical teaching mostly agree that life as we know it constitutes a minuscule fraction of a fraction of eternity.  In other words, life as we currently know it is an infinitely-all-but-non-existent portion of eternity.

If the Bible is true, then most of us concern ourselves far too much with this life, and not nearly enough with the eternity that surrounds it.

Father, I need to think about what I have stated here.  I need to remember that I, at my very best, am terminal.