Body and Soul (June 20, 2024)

“Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

Always in motion and caught up in a frenzy of activity, healthy children seem to have inexhaustible energy. As they move into their teenage years and early adulthood, young folks tend to develop the misconception that they are invincible, immune to the bodily injuries and infirmities that they normally associate only with the elderly. I can relate to that attitude of agelessness because that’s the way I felt in my youthful prime. Having experienced (and thankfully overcome) serious health issues and the normal aches and pains that go with aging and having been saddened by the passing of dear friends of my generation, as I’ve moved toward my “golden years,” I’ve been confronted with the stark reality of mankind’s mortality. Despite our best efforts to care for them through proper diet, regular exercise, and prudent safety precautions, these vulnerable physical bodies are temporal and are going to wear out and die.

The soul or spirit, however, never sleeps for it is eternal! Every person who has ever lived is bound, depending upon whether or not they have a personal relationship in Jesus Christ, for one of two ultimate destinations where the soul never dies, heaven or hell! We are all going to spend eternity either in the presence of the LORD in a heavenly paradise or apart from God in a fiery place of punishment. God does not send unrepentant sinners to hell; they choose to go there by rejecting His provision for their salvation through Christ alone! We are wise to prepare ourselves, our loved ones, and as many other people as possible by confessing our sins, accepting God’s offer of grace, and receiving by faith Jesus as our Savior. Our lively hope and blessed assurance as Christians is that our everlasting souls will one day be gloriously reunited with new resurrected, immortal bodies like that of Christ and we will joyfully live with Him forever!