The man who wants to live forever

Somewhere in September 2023, I was going through my news feed on social media when I chanced on a headline about a man who wanted to beat aging and death. My curiosity led me to open and read the article.

The article in the Time magazine online portal read in part that,

"Johnson, 46, is a centimillionaire tech entrepreneur who has spent most of the last three years in pursuit of a singular goal: don’t die. During that time, he’s spent more than $4 million developing a life-extension system called Blueprint, in which he outsources every decision involving his body to a team of doctors, who use data to develop a strict health regimen to reduce what Johnson calls his “biological age.” That system includes downing 111 pills every day, wearing a baseball cap that shoots red light into his scalp, collecting his own stool samples, and sleeping with a tiny jet pack attached to his penis to monitor his nighttime erections. Johnson thinks of any act that accelerates aging—like eating a cookie, or getting less than eight hours of sleep—as an “act of violence.”

Some scientists dispute this whole effort in the same article. Dean of the Leonard Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California stated that "Death is not optional; it's written in our genes." The CEO of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging noted "If you want immortality, you should go to a church. If I believed even a little bit that it would be possible, I would be excited. It's a pipe dream."

Why Men Want to Live Forever

When I think of why men want to live forever, three reasons come in mind:

1. They think life is all about here and now. For them, life is six feet at last, nothing more and nothing less.

2. They cannot conceive of an afterlife. They believe there is no life after this present life because it is unseen.

3. They think they have the ultimate say in their lives. Men take such bold steps because they don't consider the existence of a higher Judge over their lives.

Can Man Live Forever?

The Case of the Rich Man and Lazarus

In answering the question of whether men and women can live on earth forever, I would appeal to the story of the rich man and Lazarus as told by Jesus Christ to understand what the Bible teaches about this issue.

In Luke 16:19-24 (NKJV), Jesus narrated:

“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’"

Three key lessons we can glean from this passage of Scripture are:

#1. LIFE: The Poor Man and the Rich Man Lived on Earth. (Luke 16:19-21)

The first lesson we pick from Jesus' parable is that both the poor man and the rich man lived here on earth. They had the opportunity to live and enjoy the common grace of God. Both the rich and poor live, love, and enjoy God's creation. God's sun and rain benefit both the just and the unjust, the children of God and the children of disobedience (Ephesians 2). God benevolently brings us on earth and grants us life.

#2. DEATH: The Poor Man and the Rich Man Both Died. (Luke 16:22)

The second lesson we pick from the parable is that the poor man died, and the rich man also died. They didn't live forever. Regardless of our status in life, each one will die. No one lives forever. Even Methuselah lived very long but died. Great men and women have come and gone. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is time to be born, to live, and to die. The centimillionaire can prolong his life but he cannot live forever. Only God can grant immortality.

#3. JUDGMENT: The Poor Man Went to Heaven and the Rich Man Went to Hell. (Luke 16:23-24)

The last lesson we can take away is that the poor man went to the bosom of Father Abraham whilst the rich man died and went to hell. This was not because of their poverty or riches. It was purely because of their deeds on earth. The writer of Hebrews stated that it is appointed unto man to die and after death judgment. The big issue for man to contemplate is not whether he can live forever but how he lives on earth and what it will mean when he stands before his Maker. We were made by God and made for God. He will judge us, and we shall end up where we rightfully deserve.

Conclusion

It is clear from science that man cannot live forever. At least not by our own making. If God wants to grant immortality, which He would when we finally end up in heaven, He will do that. After all, He is the creator of all things and man (Psalm 24). The big challenge for man is not to figure out how long we want to live but how well we must live.

When we stand before God, His question will be: what did you do with His free gift of salvation? If you are found in Christ by believing in Him, you shall have eternal life. But if you are found outside Him, you will be deemed fit to enter eternal torment. We must be born again to enter eternal life of bliss with God.

Eric Otchere is committed to declaring the whole counsel of God through systematic writing and preaching of God's word. He is a Licensed Minister of ICGC. He has a thriving blog called 'Living the Gospel'. He can be contacted via otchereeric@gmail.com.