One of my favorite television characters firmly believes there is no such thing as a coincidence. Given the context of his make-believe world, I tend to agree with him. However, when my current online muse asked, “What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life,” I began to wonder about the idea of coincidences.
That morning at church, the sermon kicked off a series on the Book of Genesis. During the introduction, the pastor continued to hammer the idea that God is, was, and always will be. God is eternal, which is what you might call a very long life.
When you add the above to my medical history over the last few years, you better have a warped sense of humor, or you’ll think the next knock at the door could be the Grim Reaper. This is especially true if your last two Januarys included hospital stays with potentially dire outcomes, as mine did.
Thankfully, it wasn’t my time to go. However, during one of those stays, when things were up in the air, the attending physician tried to lighten the mood by assuring me I was a strong fighter. His exact words were, “You’re going to beat this and be with us for a long time.”
Then, in an attempt at what I assume was humor, he quipped, “You may not make it to 100, but you’ll be around for years!” I had to bite my tongue to avoid saying, “Who wants to live to be 100?” That thought should give you some idea of how I would respond to the very long-life question.
Of course, there are some caveats to keep in mind. If medical science comes up with a way for humans to live very long lives while staying physically and mentally fit as we are in our mid-twenties, living a very long life might be interesting. On the other hand, it might not. That is why one of my prayers is that should I go to Heaven, God has something interesting for me to do.
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