The will to live is a normal, intense human desire. Even though many
people aspire to discover the "fountain of youth," like a mirage in
the desert, again and again it alludes even the brightest minds.
The mortality rate for humans living on the blue planet is 100 percent. Generation after generation through the centuries now rest in
countless graves. At the end of the 21st century nearly all of
the 6 billion-plus people alive today will have died. The
problem of death is beyond humans to solve on their own.
The Bible, however, gives credible answers to the mysteries of human
existence. And one of the reasons the Bible is embraced by people
around the world is that it speaks directly and compassionately about
the universal problem of death.
The Bible is an authoritative lifeline to the human family. It's
opening pages picture the luscious tree of life which our parents,
Adam and Eve, lost access to through distrust of their Maker. The
Bible then closes with the tree of life, with its life-giving nutrients,
completely restored to the rescued human family:
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as
crystal, proceeding
from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its
street, and on
either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve
fruits, each
tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree
were for the
healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, . . .
Revelation 22:1-3 NKJV
The Promise of Life Restored
On the occasion of the death of Lazarus when Jesus arrived on the
scene in the town of Bethany, he brought comfort and hope when he
said: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25). He went on to
demonstrate it by bringing Lazarus back to life after he had been dead
in the tomb for four days.
Jesus Himself demonstrated His power and supremacy over the grave by
His own resurrection following his death by crucifixion. The Bible’s
promise is that anyone who will place their trust in Jesus may also be
resurrected from the grave:
This is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son
[Jesus]
and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will
raise him up on
the last day.
John 6:40
So the Bible and the reality of Jesus is the answer to our basic human
need. And the Resurrection at the return of Jesus to our world
is the “gold standard” by which a person may come back to life again.
The reality is that there is no other credible hope offered anywhere.
Search the world over and nothing measures up to the moral stature and
integrity of the person of Jesus Christ. Those who ignore the Bible
and the historic reality of Jesus do so at the peril of their own
lives. So complacency or denial is a high price to pay. Humans
fictionalize heroes like Superman and Spiderman. But these words of
the resurrected Jesus are not fiction:
Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One;
and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the
keys of death and of Hades [the grave].
Revelation 1:17, 18
 Right now you are on the mind of Jesus. Through the impressions of the
Holy Spirit He is urging you to break away from doubt and self-will in
order to grasp this Hope for yourself. Just move forward now telling
Him you believe and accept His offer of everlasting life. As you do
this you have moved from the realm of death to the new status of life
in Jesus. From this point on you can act as if you had left prison’s
death row (John 5:24).
Enter the Book of Life
To some it is surprising that the Creator God would be personal and
intimate with each person who lives on earth. But notice the endearing
tone of expression He uses toward fallen humans:
Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget
you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls
are continually before Me.
Isaiah 49:15,16 NKJV
So it should be no surprise that the Bible talks several times about a
Book of Life in which God places the exact names of people who choose
everlasting life as it is offered by Jesus. The apostle Paul writes to
believers in the city of Philippi:
I urge you
also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the
gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose
names are in the Book of Life.
Philippians 4:3 NKJV
Note these additional Bible references from a variety of writers who
refer to the Book of Life: Moses, Exodus 32:32,33; David,
Psalm 69:28; Malachi 3:16; Jesus, Revelation 3:5;
and John, Revelation 13:8; 20:12.
Why the Book of Life?
In our age of sophisticated technology, a book with pages seems
archaic for an Omniscient God. Fortunately, God speaks in the Bible in
terms that earthlings understand - hence, the Book of Life.
God knows every detail of a person's life and He knows a person's
inner motives. He has a way to designate the people who respond to His
promptings and are loyal to Him. Humans may not be aware, but, "The
Lord knows those who are his" (2 Timothy 2:19, NRSV). And they are in
God's Book of Life. This is God's "lost and found."
In the conflict between good and evil, God has decided that a public
record in heaven is important to the on-looking universe. Many angelic
beings are involved in affecting a person's salvation. Jesus gave this
inside look: "Likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth" (Luke 15:7). Every person who makes a decision for
salvation receives recognition and personal, on-going attention.
Those people registered in the Book of Life from all the generations
going back to our first parents in the Garden of Eden will be the ones
who are resurrected or translated when Jesus returns to our planet in
all His kingly glory (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).
How may you be
listed?
 Here are the Bible's clues:
1) Jesus said: "He that heareth [listens
from the heart] my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath
everlasting life (John 5:24).
2) Jesus said: "Whosoever. . .shall
confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which
is in heaven (Matthew 10:32).
3) Jesus said: "Likewise joy shall be in
heaven over one sinner that repenteth" (Luke 15:7).
Three ideas emerge: a saving relationship with Jesus based on
heartfelt belief, open acknowledgment and repentance that leads to a
changed life.
Yes, a person's name can be blotted out of the book of life
(Revelation 3:5).
God does not register fake or fraudulent experiences. Even after
coming to salvation in Christ a person has free choice. It is one
thing to fall in love; it is another thing to stay in love. So, also,
it is one thing to become saved and your name to be listed; it is
another thing to stay saved. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will
give thee a crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). It is important to
decide for Jesus at the beginning, and also to finish with Jesus at
the end.
Remember, God is not trying to keep people from being listed in the
Book of Life. He is anxious to get people in! He has made provision
for every one. The only way anyone can miss is if they resist. In the
end people from every age; from every nation, language, clan, tribe
and sub-group will be listed in the Lamb's Book of Life. They are all
pardoned by the sacrificial blood of Jesus.
There's room for you!
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