April 15, 2022 | Immortality
S. Lewis wrote in the Weight of Glory, “There are no ordinary people. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.
All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics.
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” (The Weight of Glory, pp. 14-15.)
Paul told the Romans in 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” In this life, this mortal life, we all can look forward to something more. Each of us will die, that’s the penalty for sin. But that is not the end of it all.
After our mortal life is over, God has promised that each person will become immortal, living forever. Where that immortality takes us is largely up to us. Those who surrendered their lives to Christ will live forever in paradise. Those who reject Him will live in everlasting torment. Very black and white. Once you reach heaven, that will be your home for all eternity. Once you are condemned to torment’s home which we call hell, you forever live lamenting what could have been.
Jesus gave us fair warning when he said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). Hell’s landlord, satan, desires that all of God’s creation would suffer the everlasting effects of living in a world of sin.
His one desire is your soul, and He will use whatever means he can to steal it from you so that you may suffer eternally with him. He doesn’t care for you past what he can cause you to do to reject God. To him your life is nothing more then a notch on his tally board.
But to God, you are His precious child, His loving creation. His desire for you is that you live out your immortality with Him. He wants you to experience a perfect existence, where sickness, death and torment no longer have a place. In fact, He desires this so much that He sent His only Son to become the perfect sacrifice, making all of satan’s efforts to condemn mankind come to nothing.
When Jesus died he proved that death had no power over Him or us. On the third day after His death, He rose from the grave as an example of what all the faithful can look forward to one day. Just like Him, we shall be granted a new life that will no longer be limited by the constraints of mortality. Just like Him, we shall live forever, praising God for the endless blessings of heaven.
Paul was instructing his student Timothy when he said, “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:8-10).
This is a lesson the whole world needs to learn, that Jesus came to overcome sin and death, that Jesus loved us enough to pay the penalty we could never have paid on our own. So great was His love for us that He would give His life for us. So sound was His promise of everlasting life that He rose again to seal the deal.
The truth is, we are all bound for immortality. The choice is ours as to what immortality will consist of. Will we choose to reject the God of all glory for the torments of hell or will be accept Christ as our Lord and Savior and live forever in paradise.
It seems like an easy choice, but we have shown by our actions that it isn’t. The devil will continue to battle for our soul using false promises and deceptive enticements. So, what will you do? I invite you to choose the one who loved you enough to take your sin and death upon Himself. Set your heart and mind on living your immortality out in heaven. Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, thank you for your precious Son who gave us the opportunity to live for ever with you in heaven. Guard our choices in this life so we may live forever with you in our next. Amen.
