Psalm 91:16 “WITH LONG LIFE I WILL SATISFY HIM, and shew him my salvation.” Long life is God's covenant heritage for all believers. Longevity is our irrevocable inheritance through the sacrifice of JESUS on the Cross. JESUS died young for us to live long.
Life is truly a gift from God. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all life. God is “pro-life” and as His faithful, Bible-believing followers, so are we!
In the first 10 verses of John 10, Jesus addresses this important topic. He is discussing his role as the Good Shepherd and in verse 10 states his purpose on earth: “I came so that they could have life — indeed, so that they could have life to the fullest” (CEB).
Bible Gateway Proverbs 3 :: NIV. for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
God gave this life to us, therefore, and only God has the right to take it from us. To put it another way, life is a sacred gift from God, and we must not defile that gift by destroying it. Life is not to be ended casually or for our own convenience. As the Psalmist said, "My times are in your hands" (Psalm 31:15).
God calls us to holiness, not to happiness. He wants us to honor Him with our daily choices and overall lifestyle. According to the Bible, there is right and wrong. And when something is wrong (or simply stupid), God says “don't do it” – even if it was making us happy.
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life” (Deut. 30:19)
God already did something
Because suffering is not the way it's supposed to be, God already entered our cosmos and suffered and died because of sin. God has already begun to restore all things to himself. Why it takes so long, we may never know this side of the New Creation.
Psalm 91:16 “WITH LONG LIFE I WILL SATISFY HIM, and shew him my salvation.” Long life is God's covenant heritage for all believers. Longevity is our irrevocable inheritance through the sacrifice of JESUS on the Cross.
When mankind had become corrupted in the period preceding the flood, God said: 'My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for he is flesh; his days shall be a hundred and twenty years' (Gen. 6:3).
Jesus gives us a clear definition of “the best life” in Matthew 22:34-39. He tells the Pharisees that the first and greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Loving God is the prerequisite for living our best, God-glorifying life.
JOHN 10:10: ABUNDANT LIFE
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Jesus is pretty clear about this. He didn't come to oppress or make life worse for anyone. He came to wash away sins and pave the way for an abundant life.
Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” To live life with purpose, it is found in the Lord. When we whole-heartedly and intentionally seek Him for direction and His purpose for our lives, He will lead and guide us.
That's why biblically speaking, living a long life on earth is not considered a curse but a blessing (Ex. 20:12), even with the ailments of old age. And It's God's favor that we live long enough to see our children's children (Ps. 128:6).
A Curse or a Blessing
But a longer life can be a blessing if you make wise lifestyle (working, consumption and health) and financial (earning, spending and investing) choices throughout your early and most productive years.
“The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23; “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Ephesians 2:8; “Let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” Revelations 22:17.
He had the longest lifespan of all those given in the Bible, having died at the age of 969. According to the Book of Genesis, Methuselah was the son of Enoch, the father of Lamech, and the grandfather of Noah. Elsewhere in the Bible, Methuselah is mentioned in genealogies in 1 Chronicles and the Gospel of Luke.
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” The Good News: Even when you're in low spirits, God still loves you.
Sometimes when bad things happen, they empower us to act and serve. Even the Savior, our example, suffered infirmities, “that his bowels may be filled with mercy” and so that He could know “how to succor his people” (Alma 7:12). Trials can open our eyes to those who are suffering.
There is nothing that says bad things won't happen. There is however, a promise that God will never leave us nor forsake us. That he will be with us, even when bad things are happening.
John 11:25-26. Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.
Mark. 8 Verses 34 to 38
[35] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. [36] For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
“For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.” The Good News: Devoting yourself to God in life is the way to live an honest and happy life. All the choices you make in your life should be made for His honor.