Treasure Digest: Eternal Youth or Eternal Life?

From the earliest written records to our present day, the pursuit of eternal youth is a consistent theme throughout history. One of the oldest literary works is the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was a king of Uruk in Babylonia, and the work chronicles his search to conquer mortality and remain eternally young, which leads him to a fabled "spring of youth."

Near the end of his arduous and futile quest he asks, "... am I to sleep, and let the earth cover my head forever?" (N.K. Sanders, The Epic of Gilgamesh, 1972, page 100). This question is strikingly similar to the one posed in Job 14:14, "If a man dies, shall he live again?"

The theme of eternal youth is again seen during the early 1500s, when Spanish explorer Ponce de Leon was enticed by tales of a mystical "fountain of youth." While some doubted the existence of such a fountain, he nevertheless obtained sponsorship from the king of Spain to lead an expedition in search of it. Ultimately this quest for eternal youth also proved unsuccessful.

In our time, the pursuit of endless youth continues. At a stunning rate, new medications claim to cure the typical effects of aging. A huge industry exists to deal with the maladies that accompany growing older. Many such options serve legitimate needs when used appropriately. However, many only attempt to delay the natural and inevitable processes of life designed by the Creator God, sometimes with unexpected and harmful consequences.

Thankfully, God offers a far more fulfilling and practical option—eternal life as a spirit being rather than eternal youth as a human being. While speaking to a Samaritan woman at a well, Jesus Christ said, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:13-14).

The laws and ways of God, and the blessings that He promises for obedience to them, are simple and practical. They are beautiful and filled with hope, and become a wellspring of life to those who follow them. Mercifully, God has blessed us with the understanding that we shall indeed live again. In response to his own question about life after death, Job stated, "You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands." Let us always be thankful for and seek the true fountain—of eternal life!