A developing country grappling with modernity, Papua New Guinea has infant mortality about 14 times higher than a developed country like Australia. Tragically, many babies and young children die before the age of five from preventable illnesses and are then abandoned by their parents. In Port Moresby, they are brought to the city morgue, where a social worker visits three or four times a year and arranges for their dignified burial outside the city. She gives each child a name, places the body in a tiny coffin, and keeps records of the burial locations in case any relative asks in the future.{30}
Perhaps only a few days ago the magpie in the park was flying from tree to tree, begging passers-by for morsels of food. Now it lay lifeless on the wet ground. Its feathered body was intact, but its life was gone. It made me reflect on life as something truly miraculous. Humans, while able to boast breathtaking achievements, have not managed to create life in its truest sense. Sadly, sometimes life – human as well as that of other creatures – has been recklessly destroyed without regard for the consequences. What is life, anyway?
Some time ago, Ali, my nine-year old Kuwaiti student, and I talked about the difference between living and non-living things. According to his textbook, all living things (other than plants) move, eat, grow and reproduce. The same is true of plants, except they remain in one place. Life makes creatures active and dynamic; death causes all activity to cease.
Life involves a constant flow of energy that keeps the necessary processes going. Many of them go on without much or any effort, or even consciousness, on the part of the living creature. As an oversimplified analogy, life is like a clock running on a battery. As long as the battery is charged, all the little wheels in the clock mechanism move and the hands show the correct time, day after day. When the battery is low, the clock may lose time, and finally it will stop.
The dead magpie will never fly again. Over a period of time, its colours will fade and through the work of ants and microscopic decomposers, its body will disintegrate. Its cells and molecules will be recycled and become parts of other organisms. The fate of a deceased person is much the same – no more movement, thoughts, feelings or plans. In a number of decades, only a few bones will remain. A sobering thought. Yet there is a difference between humans and other creatures. All humans – including the babies of Papua New Guinea – have a hope.{31}
Despite great advances in science, life (including the process of growth and aging) is not fully understood. It is a wonder that creatures of astonishing complexity develop from the fusion of two cells, each cell from a different organism, which then multiply by division. Even a single living cell is staggering in its intricacy. Its programming immeasurably supersedes that of the most sophisticated computer. Replicating itself over and over, its blueprint will differentiate into numerous body parts, each perfectly equipped for its role. At every stage of its development, each organ will “know” which direction to take and what to do.
When an organism has been fully formed, the energy that brought it about will drive each part to tirelessly function for the duration of its life. Instant communication occurs between parts of the body as needs arise, and everything works in harmony. The creature itself is internally and unconsciously programmed with remarkable instincts and reflexes to do what it is supposed to and when. There are also degrees of intelligence – one could say that a mind is at work throughout the living world.{32}
In addition, everything in nature is interconnected and interdependent. The billions of living things ranging from microscopic unicellular organisms such as bacteria and viruses to giant mammals, and including among others, the vast plant and fungi kingdoms, all interact harmoniously. Overall, law and order operate throughout the creation – encompassing also the inanimate dimensions, such as seas, mountains, sun, moon and stars, as well as weather and climate.
According to the biblical creation story (which is not a literal history of origins, but nonetheless true), humankind is unique and was given responsibility to manage the rest of the natural world.{33} While greed, exploitation and short-sightedness have negatively impacted the environment throughout human history, only in the last few generations has the intended harmony in nature been seriously disrupted.
Increasing worldwide industrial activity is contributing to global climate change with unwanted, destructive consequences, such as floods, droughts, hurricanes, and unseasonal weather patterns. Sex selective population control is causing too many boys to be born and unbalancing the male female ratio in the most populous nations. Medical science, while improving and prolonging human life as well as controlling some of the global health problems, has also inadvertently brought about the rise of drug resistant bacteria and viruses, creating a threat of future worldwide deadly epidemics. Because the delicate natural balance has become significantly altered, many species are dying out.{34}
The present system of economics which promotes unlimited growth is in the long run unsustainable for the planet. Scientists and ecologists worry not only about depletion of non-renewable resources like oil and metals, but also about the overuse of renewable resources such as fish and forests, which are not allowed time to regenerate. Unless drastic changes are made in the economies and lifestyles of the affluent regions of the world, there is a danger of global lack of basic needs like food and water, without which life cannot go on.
Scientists now believe that energy exists in all things, including the inanimate, and that some form of instant “communication” occurs at even subatomic and cosmic levels. Interestingly, Scriptures reveal that the Holy Spirit, the source and sustainer of life and the spirit of power or energy, totally fills the universe. Nowhere is the Spirit absent. Also, the apostle Paul taught the Athenians two millennia ago that we are in a way surrounded by God – in him we live, move and have our being and he is not far from any of us. Could this energy that scientists perceive as invisibly pervading all things, directing and upholding them until their appointed time is up, be an aspect of the sustaining divine Spirit? Further, according to the Bible, the Creator is aware of every sparrow that dies, and sustains and clothes every flower, not to mention the apex of creation, human beings who bear the divine image.{35}
In addition to physical life, the Scriptures also refer to another type of life – real life in contrast to the familiar relatively short life which ends in death 100 percent of the time. To those willing to be reconciled with God the Father, Jesus Christ promised eternal life, the seed of which is already planted in this life. There is a promise of a future resurrection after a temporary cessation of this life. Death is symbolically portrayed as sleep or unconsciousness. Those who died having the Holy Spirit – the seed of eternal life – will wake up with a new glorious body when Jesus Christ returns to the earth. Instead of the corruptible flesh and blood body, as wonderfully made as it is, they will be given an incorruptible body that will never get sick, decay or die.{36}
In contrast with eternal life, the Word of God also speaks about eternal death – a death from which there will never be a resurrection to a future life. Referred to as the “second death”, it will be accomplished through a “lake of fire”. Christians in general, based on a few metaphorical verses, view the second death as eternal torment in hell. However, the teaching of a minority that those who reject the divine offer of life and grace will be forever destroyed may be closer to the truth. This idea of eternal death as opposed to eternal torment better corresponds to what the Bible reveals about God’s nature, eternal life, and the incorrigible. If God personifies love and mercy and freely offers to humanity eternal life – in contrast to eternal death, rather than eternal life in agony – it seems unlikely that the Creator will forever torture those who choose not to accept his offer of life. Whatever the exact details however, the fate of the wicked in terms of an ultimate or second death remains certain.{37}
To survive in our present existence, we need to be actively engaged in the four processes that characterize life. First, we must eat so that our bodies can produce bodybuilding materials and energy that enable physical activity and renewal. Drink is needed to replenish lost water and to keep the body internally clean. Secondly, we have to be active – otherwise our organs will atrophy and stop functioning. Third, growth is necessary as when we stop growing, we degenerate. Finally, to enable the survival of the species in view of universal death, we must reproduce and replace ourselves.
The four life sustaining processes also have spiritual parallels. Food and drink are required in the spiritual dimension of our lives. Through the Lord’s Supper (referred to as the Eucharist by those of Catholic background), we partake of Christ’s body and blood. Jesus who said that “man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” also refers to himself as the bread of life. The written Word of God is compared to milk and solid food as well.{38}
Additionally, Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit imparts the water of life that permanently quenches thirst. The Holy Spirit is compared to living waters issuing from a converted person for others to be refreshed by. Through continued spiritual nourishment and faith, we build a closer relationship with God.{39}
Spiritually alive people grow in grace and love and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Looking to Jesus as their example and responding to the Holy Spirit within, they gradually take on Christ’s likeness. In developing the mind of Christ, they are overcoming their selfish desires. Through the gift of divine grace, their lives bear the fruit of the Spirit, the greatest of which is love for God and love for fellow humans. Their example and teaching inspires others who then desire to learn more about their hope and lifestyle. In this way, new people are added to the spiritual body of Christ – the church, which grows as a result.{40}
In the natural world, only life begets life. Living creatures can only reproduce their own kind – through fertilized eggs or division. Using cloning, scientists can produce a genetically identical copy of a cell or living creature, but are unable to create life from scratch. None but the Creator God can bring life out of the non-living or dead state and sustain it.{41}
According to the creation account, the first humans, Adam and Eve, were created as clay figures and only came to life when given the “breath of life” (also referred to as “spirit of life”). The breath of life comes from God and returns to him upon death. It not only contains the life principle, but also seems to impart the mental, emotional and creative faculties (including reasoning, memory, will and imagination), as well as some spiritual comprehension, as seen in the many religions of the world. These God given abilities separate humans from other creatures, as well as making each person unique.{42}
The Creator, as the one and only life giver, has power over life and death. He both imparts life and takes it away at his discretion. However, he has given humanity a degree of choice between life and death – both at the physical and the eternal level. The way from death to life is only through a resurrection to another bodily existence (which can also be seen as a reincarnation or taking on another bodily existence), and the Bible alludes to more than one resurrection, over which God has total sovereignty.{43}
Adam and Eve initially had a choice between life and death. They had access to the tree of life, as well as a tree of knowledge, the partaking of which would result in death. Despite being instructed not to eat of the tree leading to death, they exercised their free will and imbibed of it. As an immediate consequence, their relationship with God changed from love to fear. With their connection to God disrupted, they, in a sense, died spiritually. They also lost access to the tree of life – representative of the Holy Spirit, the source of both spiritual and eternal life. Later they died physically and returned to the dust from which they came.{44}
As a result of their disobedience, their descendents were also barred from the tree of life and acquired the same, now sinful, ego centred nature. And so down through the generations, all are born in a state that the Bible describes as “dead in sins” and are generally unreceptive to the things of God.{45}
Each of us is also given a choice – whether to invest the present life in divine purposes and reap eternal life or whether to pursue a life contrary to God’s revealed way and experience the ultimate, or real, death. Physical death is certain. All people are destined to die – some after just a few short days, months or years; others after seven or more decades, or even a century. The awareness of death surrounds us daily – it meets us through the news and in our relationships with others. People are killed by bomb blasts, hurricanes, earthquakes, or in plane and car crashes. We hear of the famous dying of cancer or heart attacks. Close loved ones die of old age or a terminal disease. Nothing in this life is more certain than death. It is the inevitable result of our nature – the penalty of sin is death and this is an immutable law of the universe. The dead are cut off from God’s life sustenance. However, for those who make the choice for God, there is a hope beyond death.{46}
While we are all born spiritually dead – that is, unable of and by ourselves to gain access to eternal life, God has not left humanity without recourse. Desiring all people to be saved, the Creator came to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ and through his own humiliating death enabled alienated humans to be reconciled with him. This is God’s amazing offer of grace and pardon, which if accepted, opens the way from death to life.{47}
Although not all have accepted the offer of eternal life, many have yielded to God’s drawing. In sorrow and contrition, they have perceived their hopeless condition and the need for a Saviour. They have responded to the Holy Spirit working in their hearts and minds, giving them a grasp of and yearning for spiritual things and active divine presence in their lives. At this point in their life’s journey, like a fertilized egg, they have been begotten by God and received the seed of eternal life. Spiritually, they have been raised from death to life or born again, and figuratively have gained access to heavenly places.{48}
At Jesus Christ’s second coming to the earth, those who have the indwelling Holy Spirit, and thus the germ of eternal life, will be either resurrected from their graves or, if they are still alive, be changed and given glorious new bodies. All those privileged to partake of this resurrection will never again be subject to death, disease, degeneration, pain and suffering – all the results of living in ways contrary to the Creator. Instead they will have a magnificent, joyful eternal future.{49}
We all know that life is not easy. In nature, there is a constant struggle for survival. Only the fastest, strongest and fittest survive. Human societies operate in a similar way – often the smart, ambitious, attractive, resilient and capable make it to the top. Sometimes, it is also the harsh and ruthless that become the rich and powerful.
Besides proven ways to reach success, such as goals, education, health, drive, perseverance and resourcefulness, other factors come into play for those who follow divine leading in their lives. Seeing the short-sightedness of striving for status, power and wealth, their vision of the future leads them to embrace the values of the heavenly kingdom of which they are already citizens. Their modus operandi is based on the way of love, kindness, humility and faith as they anticipate eternal life and immortality in the world to come. Because of their orientation, they often need to resist the world’s values and may be ridiculed or persecuted for it.{50}
In addition to God’s way being in conflict with the world’s way, an internal struggle may also exist. Each person has two natures, though one may be inactive. People are born with human nature and inclined to seek independence from God. They also have a spiritual nature, which lies dormant. Alienated from the Creator, they are “dead in sins” and cut off from saving grace. (Of course, God is in all beings as the life giver and sustainer, even if some may not acknowledge his existence.) When people are by grace spiritually enlivened and turn to God, the human and divine natures begin to work side by side. The Bible contrasts the “old man” – human nature, with the “new man” – the new creation in Christ.{51}
In a sense, a life and death struggle – a battle for our minds and hearts – exists between the human nature with its ego driven inclination to selfishness and the divine nature imparted through the Holy Spirit. The human proclivity toward self-seeking, resulting in such things as imbalance, anger, hate and envy is at odds with the leading of the Spirit in the way of love, kindness and gentleness. Furthermore, as Satan tempted Christ to give in to the human leanings, he also tempts us to pursue pleasures, power and status.{52}
Jesus taught that a person needs to “lose their life for his sake” in order to preserve it for the kingdom. A sacrificial denial of one’s ego, or the death of self, is called for. To pursue the upward call to holiness, we are instructed to put to death the ways of the sinful nature, to resist Satan, and to rise above the downward pulls of the world. The “old man” with its vices should be figuratively put off like a garment. As a new creation in Christ, we are to nurture the divine nature, bearing the “fruit of the Spirit” in our lives.{53}
As we continue our life journey in Christ, our mind and thinking are gradually transformed from within in such a way that the divine nature slowly replaces the self-dominated nature. The life and death struggle is being won through the power of the Holy Spirit inside – the mind is renewed, thoughts are brought into submission to Christ, and vices are replaced by virtues.{54}
While the miracle of physical life around us is something to marvel at, we can be even more awed by the miracle of human life being transformed into the divine image of Christ as the seed of eternal life within takes root and grows. And one day, we will see Jesus Christ as he is, and at that time fully take on his likeness, including immortality. This is the destiny of all who choose life over death, and being empowered by the Holy Spirit, gain victory in the life and death struggle.{55}
