People are fixated on their fear of death and so seek a remedy.
This though, is a misconception on the part of people.
Alas, a result of our ignorance....which we do need to be saved from via some manner of epiphany.
We
are ignorant about the future, and yes, we do fear death. Because when one gets right down to it, what happens after death is a mystery, unknown but to those who've gone on, and even then they might not ever know if death is all there is.
On the otherhand, one might disregard death with contempt and focus on the here and now. And that's fine, if all you are after resides in the few 70 or 80 years, more or less, that one experiences here in the material world.
But if you believe and hope for that
something better, then you are measuring your life beyond this existence. And from that perspective, our life here is but a drop in the bucket. So for those who have this hope in eternal life should have every right to expect to set their minds on things above.
Yet rather than regarding life here as a waste (a preoccupation with eternity could cause one to conceive this world as a lost cause), one could view our time here as an opportunity to learn and grow toward the principles of the life beyond. There is no need to sit around on our laurels waiting for Christ to come. Instead, we can learn the principles of the Kingdom here and now. If the core of Jesus' teachings is learning to Love God and Love our Neighbor, then it serves as a catalyst to strive to perfect those principles in our own lives.
I will submit to you that the experience for me has taught me to break beyond the barriers of what I thought were the limits of my own personality and nature. I've learned to love people in ways that were not there before, even though the risk of rejection exists. But that fear of rejection is no longer as big a hinderance to me, knowing there is Someone higher than myself that love me. That despair has diminished. And taking more risks has enabled me to experience love in deeper ways in different relationships. The comradery of being a part of a community of believers focusing forward on common goals has ignited a passion to do well to others, melting certain biases and bigotry I've had in the past, having commpassion in areas I've before regarded with apathy.
The hope of eternal life is the expectation that these things will continue until we are come to a peaceful coexistence in the world. That we all learn to love each other and respect each other. I do expect such remedy as this.
Do you believe we are wasting our time in this endeavor?
