‘Then what?’

Ever wonder about how long you’re going to live?

People think about this more than they realize.

Buy a house young so it’s paid off when you retire, start putting money into a retirement account, buy life insurance to protect your family, what is the best age to take Social Security, who cares – live free and die young (that’s the brash youth in all of us).

These are easy conversations to have, and for some people in the workplace the company actually helps with these topics, so people are talking about what lies ahead – how long they will live.

The transition for you, disciple, is along the lines of, “What about after retirement, when it all ends?”

And it can be a pretty blunt, eye-opening, truthful conversation based on what the Bible tells us.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 (KJV) – “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”

Ecclesiastes 3:20 (KJV) – “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.”

You literally can’t take anything with you, so what comes after?

Folks know the end will come in this world, and when they think about it, they know most people won’t be remembered in the history books.

Matthew 6:19-21 (KJV) – “19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

There’s no harm in planning for retirement, but what’s next?

How will you live your life in those last days, and to what end?

All that planning and saving in this life, with less time ahead, and what true treasure will you have?

Now, disciple, every conversation can lead toward salvation with this question, “Then what?”

3 Questions for now

See above.

As the young folks say these days, “Those questions are fire!”

“But I’ve got it all planned out for school, career and retirement,” they say.

Then what?

Be kind. Love others. Be bold.

Shawn’s noodling rant:

(“Noodling” is a term I swiped from my mentor. The meaning is to “ponder” or “think deeply about” a topic that God is challenging us with through scripture or the Holy Spirit, or both.)

Now what? Time to get on with living for Christ

I was noodling on a topic that came up in Bible study class recently.

How could people in the Old Testament live so long (the person asking couldn’t fathom that reality)?

And why do we live such shorter lives?

Turning to the Bible, there was the answer.

Genesis 6:3 (KJV) – “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”

That meant life spans went from many hundreds of years to a whole lot less. All because of increased wickedness and corruption of humanity. And the world has arguably continued down this dark path and maybe accelerated into darkness this century.

If God commanded our lives only be until 120 years old way back then, did we miss something since then?

The average life span for a man in the U.S. is about 76 years and for a woman is about 81 years.

Cut those by about 10-20 years or so in other, much poorer countries around the world.

Maybe God is allowing our life spans to dwindle further because of continued sin. Just a noodle thought.

What lies ahead for the state of human life spans in the coming years?

What, no more life insurance policies for people after age 50?

That would make me ancient, newsworthy for longevity in life.

We know no one lives forever on this earth.

Time is short.

Time to get busy living.

And living for Christ.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (KJV) – “15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 17 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”

Acts 4:29 (KJV) – “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.”

Now, disciple, the question for non-believers is, “Then what?” while the question for us is, “Now what?”