Shall Man Live Again?

Shall man, who is a living soul, endowed by the Creator with the power of reasoning, emotion and will, die and never live again?

The only factual and authoritative statement concerning the origin of man is found in the Bible. The Bible says, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul!" This is but part of the fascinating mystery of man's origin. Here is more: "And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them."

The phrase "the image of God" would suggest that man is an intelligent, emotionally equipped being endowed with a will of his own. These faculties are housed in a temple of clay. This is but a part of the analysis. Man is also a living soul. And it is this factor, above all others, that makes man a creature destined to live forever.

It is true that most of us have witnessed the death of some person. War and the ever-increasing crime and accident toll make all of us keenly aware of death. The temple of clay, which is our physical body, does pass away. And we are prone to say, "This is the end; death has gotten the victory, and what has been shall be no more." And be it in sorrow, or skepticism, or ignorance, or unbelief, we resign ourselves to a similar fate. Being an animal, we too shall die. So why not eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die?

But man is not made of flesh alone. Man is a living soul! The body is but the expression of what that soul shall be throughout eternity. The choices we make, and the emotional drives that dominate while we live in this body determine the destiny of our souls. We may choose to love God with all our heart, soul, and strength, and channel our emotional drives to serve the Creator rather than self. If we do, this will be the expression and the outward manifestation of our faith in God. God says, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."

But we also have the power to choose to live apart from God, to despise His commandments, to refuse His precepts and admonitions, and to reject Jesus Christ - the Way of Salvation. Yes, we have the power to choose the downward path and its destination - hell.

Regardless of how we may live, life does not end at the grave. The grave marks the beginning of the hereafter. Righteous Job had this to say concerning the hereafter: "...all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change comes. Thou (Lord) shall call, and I will answer You: You will have a desire to the work of Your hands; for I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold." This is the lot of all who put their trust in God. Their souls shall live forever in His presence. But if we continue to live in sin and unbelief we shall go to hell when we die. And there we shall be eternally shut out from heaven, forever separated from God.

You are a living soul, created by Almighty God, and for this reason you will live forever. Just where you spend eternity is entirely up to you. You were created to dwell with God forever, in a glorious fullness of life that only eternity can reveal. Choose life. Why will you die? "God commends His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because God sent His only begotten Son into the world, so we might live through Him." "And this is the record, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life." Turn to God, confess your sins and believe on the One Who can give you eternal life, Jesus Christ our Saviour.

References:

Gen. 2:7; Gen. 1:26,27; Heb. 11:6; Job 14:14, 15; Job 19: 25, 27; Rom. 5:8;
I John 4:9; 5:11,12