PRESERVING OUR
LIVES
By Levi M. Castro
To defend and preserve his own life is but natural for
man. But, the present condition of the
world proves that, by his own power, man can not truly preserve his life and do
what is good for him. It is not ironic
that, just as mankind gains more knowledge with the swift and continuous
advancement of creativity, science, information and communication technology,
the world suffers even more? There have
been novelties in cutting-edge research—like the ones hoped to provide
information that will have ever increasing utility and precision for
medicine—but still many diseases remain incurable. And also, more and more lives are being lost
as a result of violence and of worsening poverty. Such is the sad state of the world. And the inevitability of death still
continues to plague the 21st-century man and humble him despite his
being learned.
In view of
this, the Lord Jesus Christ presented this profound truth about man’s life—the
truth that we should discern and understand:
“Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” (Luke
17:33, New King James Version)
There is a way
in which man tries to preserve his life but, unfortunately, results in his losing
it or, in his own destruction. Such is
the way followed by those described by the Bible as the wicked:
“The wicked tell God to leave them alone; they don’t want
to know his will for their lives.” (Job. 21:14, Today’s English Version)
These people
think that, by their own ability, they can manage their lives well. They wrongly believe that they don’t need to
know God’s will for their lives. But man
on his own is incapable of preserving and managing his life well because man
has no control over his life and is uncertain of what will happen to him (Jer.
10:23, Ibid.) If this were not true,
then why would there be regrets, blunders, and frustrations? And from these stem the more weighty problems
of man. And so, God through the Bible
tells us: “it is not for man to direct
his steps” (Jer. 10:23, New
International Version). Man by his own
ends up wandering off to ruinous paths.
GOD ALONE KNOWS
WHAT’S GOOD FOR US
The Almighty god, our Creator, who declared, “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring
you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for” (Jer. 29:11, TEV), knows what is good for us.
Thus, we cannot but let God direct our lives, for even if man is filled
with wisdom, strength, and wealth, he should not boast of them by relying
solely on them for his well-being. As
written in the Bible:
“The LORD says, ‘Wise men should not boast of their
wisdom, nor strong men of their strength, nor rich men of their wealth. If anyone wants to boast, he should boast
that he knows and understands me, because my love is constant, and I do what is
just and right’ …” (Jer. 9:23-24, Ibid.)
To know and understand
God is to acknowledge that He is the One who does what is good, right, and just
and, hence, man’s welfare rests solely on His power.
THE ONE UNABLE TO PRESERVE HIS LIFE
Our Lord Jesus Christ illustrates through a parable one
who tried to preserve his life according to his own way only:
“Then Jesus told them this parable: ‘There was once a rich man who had land which
bore good crops. He began to think to
himself, “I don’t have a place to keep all my crops. What can I do? This is what I will do,” he told himself; “I
will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and
all my other goods. Then I will say to
myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy
yourself!” But God said to him, “You
fool! This very night you will have to
give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for
yourself?” And Jesus concluded, ‘This is
how it is those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God’s
sight’.” (Luke 12:16-21, Ibid.)
The rich man
didn’t say that because he had wealth he would dedicate himself to serving
God. He did not even thank the One who
is the source of every good thing that he had.
Instead, he spoke only about himself and his material possession. He was rich only in his sight and not in
God’s. Thus, God rebuked the man who
forgot Him, “You fool! This very night you will have to give up your
life; who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?” (Luke
12:20, Ibid.)
LETTING GOD DIRECT OUR LIVE
What should we do then so that God may direct our
lives? The Bible teaches:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
(Prov. 3:5-6, NKJV)
Whatever we
decide and do must be in accordance with God’s will. This is how we truly and wholeheartedly
invite God to direct our lives.
Most
especially, when it comes to religion, one must know the way that God
wants. Concerning this, He commands:
“Thus says the Lord: “Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” (Jer.
6:16, Ibid.)
We can see
that there are people who do not want to follow God. Even in choosing a religion, there are those
who want to decide all by themselves.
They will not walk in the path God commands them to walk in. But, in order for man to be brought to God
and find rest for his soul, which is salvation and eternal life, man needs to
walk in the good way. The Lord Jesus
said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”
(John 14:6, Ibid.) He also pointed out, “I
am the door of the sheepfold … anyone who comes into the fold through me will
be safe” (John 10:7, 9, Revised English Bible).
Has man
already fulfilled God’s will when, after searching, he finds the path or way
who is the Lord Jesus Christ? Not
yet. What else does man need to do after
finding the way or door? Come into the
fold through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the door of the sheepfold. Unfortunately, as we have learned earlier,
there are people who insist on their own way.
Some people insist on just having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To them, that is all that man needs in order
to be saved. Faith in Christ, indeed, is
important; however, God’s commandment through Christ, as Christ Himself
declared, is to come into or enter through Him.
Where are those who have entered through Christ gathered? In the “fold” or flock. The “flock [is] … the church of Christ which
he [Christ] has purchased with his blood” (Acts 20:28, Lamsa Translation). If it is
true, therefore, that we have fulfilled what God and Christ wanted us to do and
not just what we want, we must be inside the true Church of Christ.
‘DEATH SHALL NOT PREVAIL’
The proof that those who have joined the true Church have
done what is truly for their own good and that which will truly preserve their
lives, was given by Christ:
“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it”
(Matt. 16:18, Revised Standard Version)
Isn’t death the antithesis or opposite of
life? Members of the Church built by
Christ, however, shall not be overcome by death. Is this not man’s greatest welfare? What is meant that the power of death shall
not prevail against those who will be saved is given in the following verses:
“For he sees that wise men die; Likewise
the fool and the senseless person perish, And leave their wealth to others …
man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish.
“But God will redeem my soul from the
power of the grave, …” (Ps. 49:10, 12, 15, NKJV)
As the Bible
proves, all people have been appointed to die, yet the ones who will be saved
will be brought back to life to die no more.
That is why Christ said that there is one who will lose his life but
will preserve it (Luke 17:33, Ibid.) and that “the powers of death shall not
prevail against [the Church]” (Matt. 16:18, RSV). On the other hand, what will happen to those
who did not “strive to enter through the narrow door” or those failed to enter
the true Church of Christ because they insisted on their own way or religion of
their own liking? Christ says:
“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out.” (Luke
13:24-28, New Revised Standard Version)
Therefore, man
must enter or join the true Church to be saved and to attain life everlasting,
for by doing so, he is letting God direct his life because he is obeying His
command taught by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Furthermore,
God has many promises to those who let Him direct their lives:
“The Lord is our protector and glorious king, blessing us
with kindness and honor. He does not
refuse any good thing to those who do what is right.
“… and so no disaster will strike you, no
violence will come near your home. … When they call to me, I will answer them;
when they are in trouble, I will be with them.
I will rescue them and honor them.
I will reward them with long life; I will save them.” (Ps. 84:11;
91:10, 15-16, TEV)
Indeed, there
is no way we can truly preserve our lives and do good for ourselves other than
by allowing God to direct our lives by doing what is right or by obeying His
will. For, even if we lose our present
lives in the service of His name, we will gain eternal life when the Lord Jesus
Christ returns. *
Copied from PASUGO GOD’S MESSAGE | FEBRUARY 2006 | PAGES 28-31
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