Choosing a FOREVER Life

It hit the airwaves just before I graduated from high school. And though I never absorbed any of the lyrics except the first line, I found myself humming and singing those few words over and over. There was also a movie and TV series that showcased the song.

“Fame! I want to live forever!”

Irene Cara belted it out so effectively at the top of the charts that I didn’t have to see any of the shows to remember it. Afterall, who doesn’t want to be famous, and who doesn’t want to live forever?

Well, it turns out that there are those who don’t want the pressures of fame. Ask celebrities who cannot go out in public without being harassed. And concerning living forever? it depends on who you ask.

What’s so great about a long life?

I recently read a post by a self-proclaimed Gen Z atheist. He was poking fun at how long the Bible claims pre-flood people lived. Methuselah has the biblical record of 969 years. “I’m already bored with this world,” he wrote. “Can you imagine living hundreds of years without the internet or any technology? No thank you.”

While there is much that could be said about this young man’s stereotypical Gen Z dependence on technology to get through any given day, it’s his view of the burdens of a long life that interests me here. It sounds like he might disagree with the song Fame. Living forever without technical support for entertainment sounds miserable, even cruel. If living hundreds of years is intolerable, what would it be like to be immortal?

Yet the search for immortality seems to be as old as humanity’s existence. The Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh is an example of an ancient quest for immortality. The conclusion, of course, is that death is inevitable. But some sort of eternal life can be attained through being remembered by those who are left behind. This is what I assume the song Fame is referring to: I want to be famous for something so that I will live in people’s minds and the stories they tell long after I die.

It has been promised to us

There have been many more modern stories written that explore earthly immortality. The Highlander film franchise that began back in 1986 is one of them. J.R.R. Tolkien’s elves of Middle Earth is another. And while they all provide a tinge of vicarious thrill imagining what it might be like to defy death, the stories also weave in threads of sadness and loneliness, especially as the immortals develop relationships with mortals and watch them die. The effects of death in a broken world still cannot be completely avoided, even for an immortal.

But here’s the thing: as followers of Jesus, we are being told WE WILL LIVE FOREVER. The biblical promise of eternal life is not merely a sweet-sounding metaphor or a way of describing a disembodied spirit floating around somewhere in the sky. We are people of the resurrection. Our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead and given an eternal, incorruptible physical body. We, His followers, are promised the same thing. It is part of our eternal hope.

But, depending on one’s mindset, this may or may not seem like a wonderful thing. It still sounds so far off, and I have my needs and desires right now to deal with.

We must expand our thinking

Today, it seems that so many of us are short-term thinkers. This can be seen in how little toleration there is for delayed gratification. We want to feel good now. We want our coffee at Starbuck’s faster and our job promotions and pay raises sooner. The idea of waiting or persevering through pain, trials, or boredom very long for anything is intolerable and even evil. I feel more than a twinge of impatience as I wait for my laptop to startup. Why does it take 60 seconds or more after I turn it on? Does it need to be fixed? Do I need a new one? When is a faster one going to come out? It’s no wonder that we no longer use the older term for patience. Long suffering definitely sounds like cruel and unusual punishment!

So, if I am going to take the promise of living forever seriously, what needs to change in my thinking? One thing that I see that gets in the way of living as one who is going to live forever is modern materialism, or “make-me-feel-good-now thinking.” Many Christians claim to believe in eternal life but live as if all that is important is what they experience in the moment. The Bible tells us that even the physical world is going to be remade into an incorruptible place for us to dwell with our incorruptible bodies forever. In other words, the stuff and experiences that we typically depend on now for meaning and enjoyment are not going to last very long.

Our greatest assets?

We must have an investment mindset. The qualities in this life that are eternal, according to the Bible, are faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). The fruit that comes from exercising these will last forever. Therefore, overcoming skepticism and learning to trust (in God), overcoming despair and learning to believe there is good in the future (even if not seen now), and overcoming self-centeredness and learning to give (even when it hurts) are what we should be focusing on now as eternal creatures. In other words, we need to invest in relationships – with God and other eternal beings. The dividends from such investments are the ONLY ONES we will take into our long-term, eternal existence (and it won’t be boring).

But, when I am focused only on how to make my present life happier and more pleasurable, I end up investing in things that are momentary and already decaying. Why is there so much despair today when greater levels of physical pleasure, ease, and opportunities for self-actualization are at our disposal more than any other time in human history? Why is suicide the growing preferred option to perseverance? I am confident it is because we are being discipled to believe that what we experience with our five senses and the accompanying emotions here and now is all there is.

The truth, however, is that we were made to live forever, and not just in someone’s memory. Our time in this present world is the season we’ve been given to pour into our eternal futures. It is counter-intuitive for most of us. But a different mindset is needed. Through trusting our Savior when we feel blind, believing in His goodness when everything around us is crumbling, and choosing sacrificial love when all we want to do is take care of ourselves: this is how we build our eternal portfolio and store up long-term riches.

Yes! I’m going to live forever (and be famous in God’s eyes)! For now, I want to live out that truth everyday.

Eternity has already begun. How are we investing in it?

Response:

• What does it mean to me to live forever? Do my daily choices reflect what I say I believe?
• To what am I giving myself right now that has no eternal value?
• What level of priority do faith, hope, and love have in my life? What evidence is there that they are active?
• Jesus, show me how to start living eternally, now!

(Edited and reposted from June 10, 2024 “Choosing a Long-Term View of My Life”)