Fragile Earthen Vessels.

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 

Earthen vessels. That's all we are made of, right, materials that eventually return to dust? We can be damaged in many, many ways, too many for me to count. We are fragile in the grand scheme of things. Many a person has spent their lives longing for a way for humans to live longer, better lives.  We have not been able to extend our lifespans much beyond 120 years at the very, very best and it's more like 84 for men and 86 for women- but that's not always the case either. Both of my parents and all of my grandparents died before 86 years old. I have only a couple of aunts and uncles left who are getting up there into their 80's. If my dad had lived longer he'd be 89 today, but he died at the much younger age of 55. People die all the time, the very young- barely born, the unborn, and every single age in between can claim many lives. There is no magical age of life where you can't be destroyed in some many. We are simply earthen vessels.

A part of us deep down inside comprehends that this isn't how our lives were meant to be though. Death is an anomaly though many have come to terms with it being the norm. We know in our hearts it is not the norm. We do not want to die. I heard something the other day about the people who have survived suicide attempts, the majority will tell you that the moment after they committed to death and that step was taken off the ledge, the bullet released, the stool kicked away- the thought they had was they wished they hadn't, that no problem they had couldn't have been figured out in another way.  Now this is a majority thing, not just a few suicide survivors. The suicide successes (though I hate to call them successes) can't tell their stories of their almost last thoughts, but to even consider for a moment they felt the same way it's heartbreaking.

We were not meant to live the lives we have to live today. We were not meant to live in the shadow of death, in the grip of pain day after day, in the heartache of losing loved ones, and loved ones losing us. Our existence was meant for more and that is why we strive to comprehend a true belief in life after we die.

I believe in life after we die, but not instant life after we die.

I believe that supernaturally I will be resurrected when my Savior returns and ushers in our new existence- the existence we were always meant to have, not this one.

We were not created to be fragile jars of clay, we were created to live forever. When sin entered the world the alteration of our beings on many levels had to occur to allow for death- and truthfully- it took hundreds of years for us to run down into the fragile beings we are today. People used to live into their hundreds, one man lived to be nine hundred and some years old before succumbing to death. We weren't meant to die easily, we were made for eternity.

The fact we became subject to death is a constant, unending reminder that we messed up things and stepped out of the life offering us a source of eternity. We turned our backs on eternal life but the GOOD NEWS is we can still accept a future eternal life! We weren't cut off from the promise entirely, just temporarily!

More on this tomorrow by the grace and will of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!