Verle Bell M.D.
[Originally published as Death Comes Bit by Bit]
God warned:
In the day that you eat of that tree, you shall surely die!
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Eve took a bite and handed it to Adam. He looked at her and saw a gorgeous woman who seemed to still be full of life, so he took a bite and we all died. For as by one man sin entered the world and death by sin (Romans 5:12)…
The devil is so sneaky and can’t help but lie, lie, lie (John 8:44). He takes advantage of the fact that death comes bit by bit to suggest that death is not coming at all.
Sin is a lot like exposing ourselves to radiation. Death comes when we have accumulated a certain level. One can get enough in a moment to be killed but usually, it is additive.
Young people have the most trouble with this, they eat poorly, don’t exercise, don’t sleep, worry worry worry, allow bitterness to fester, sleep on the beach exposed to the sun, and seem to be doing OK. They plan to get back on track later, just in time to avoid the consequences of their choices.
However, they will never be as healthy as they would have been if they had remembered NOW their creator in the days of their youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1). True, God can take the years that the locusts have eaten and do some restoring, but he usually turns the damage I have done into a message to young people to avoid my errors.
The most expensive thing that I can give young people is the lessons that I have learned from messing up. I am glad to give these for free in an attempt to salvage something from the mess, but young people too often want to learn the hard way, earning long-term consequences by repeating my mistakes for themselves.
I often wish that young people could spend a week as themselves at age 70 and then go back and live their lives differently. A recent research study involved showing young people a picture of what they are likely to look like at 70 by taking their present picture and aging it. This is the same kind of tool that law enforcement uses to see what a person would look like now when the only picture is old. The study’s young people went out and bought life insurance and took future planning more seriously.
I think the devil suggests that “sin is fun and godliness is hard work and inconvenient (Acts 24:25); so enjoy sin now and repent later.” Christians can live in such a way they share the true message that godliness is fun and God’s way “addeth no sorrow” (Proverbs 10:22).
Death is accumulating. In Adam’s day, it took 1000 years to kill them off and now we are down to 80 but still we don’t get it. We are all dying.
No, I can’t avoid physical death unless Jesus returns first. However, I can acknowledge that God has given me health instructions to slow the process and keep me serving him and others as long as possible. He says to let go of guilt and bitterness, focus on the present, live in hope, focus on the needs of others, eat healthy, get a good night’s sleep, etc. (1 Corinthians 9:27).
I can move from death into life, by the grace of God, and find that my inner man is a little younger and more fully alive each day even as the outer man dies (John 5:24, 2Corinthians 4:16).
Oh death where is thy victory, oh grave where is thy sting? the sting of death is sin and Jesus has bought me victory over sin and death! I Corinthians 15:55
