Think about it. No matter how much happiness human life may include, who wants the downsides of being mortal? Danger, disease, broken relationships, decline, death—no thanks.
Human reason says there’s not much choice. Isn’t it better to live than not? Sadly, some who suffer greatly come to wonder. Others never quit trying to beat the mortal odds. They may adopt extreme regimens of diet, exercise, and pills to keep the body going. Not-so-far-out futurists expect scientific advances that will extend life indefinitely. Will mortals figure out how to make themselves immortal in the 21st century or
beyond?
That question tends to lead to more questions about the consequences of much longer life spans, and even what it means to be human versus a smart machine. But questions about escaping mortality can lead to practical, albeit challenging, answers, if we ask the supreme Truth. Consider one such answer given to Christ Jesus’ followers 2,000 years ago: “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death” (I John 3:13, 14).
