When a child is born, it ought to be understood that its survival lasts only for a limited time—whether days, weeks, months, or years. The longest known human lifespan in recent years is about 120 years, reached by fewer than ten people, while average longevity is about seventy years. That is indeed a very short period when compared with eternity. The most virtuous person who ever lived, Jesus Christ, lived only about thirty-three years before His crucifixion. The most crucial question every person ought to ask is: What is the purpose of physical life?
It is perfectly normal for us to want to live longer, but for what reason? There is nothing abnormal about death, just as there is nothing abnormal about birth. Every child born awaits death at some point. Regardless of background, the process always begins with birth and leads to death at some point. Some people die young; others die at old age. Living longer should not necessarily be regarded as a blessing compared with living a shorter life. The comparison of this nature counts for nothing.
Any duration of physical life on earth must be examined for what the person did, especially for the influence that affected other people. Jesus, our standard, lived only thirty-three and a half years on earth. Yet His sterling accomplishments can never be compared with any other human achievement in this world. Life is not about longevity but about what one does for others during that life. In this respect, the technological innovators of our modern civilization may be said to be closest to Jesus.
A person is remembered more for what was done for others than for what was done for oneself. Many mourn their dead without appreciating this reality. Paul’s advice was to live this life as if it were ending at sunset. This physical life is not as important as most people assume it to be, except when fulfilling other people’s needs. The only value of this life concerns what one does for other people. One may compete in a beauty pageant or acquire the finest material gains, but all of it counts for nothing after death.
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16 NIV).
“What I mean, brothers, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:29–31).
According to Paul, when one concentrates on doing God’s will, using Jesus Christ as the standard, one uses time wisely. The present life can either be used effectively to fertilize future glory or be wasted for nothing. A person aware that the present life will vanish cannot afford to waste even minutes of precious time. One can accumulate as much wealth as possible, but that wealth also perishes after one passes on.
Paul’s advice is driven by the fact that God’s children no longer have any share in the things of this world. There is no discrimination regarding who God’s children are, for it is up to any person to choose to be God’s child or remain in indecision. A truly converted person ceases to worry about physical acquisitions. Material things can be used to serve the Lord. Being occupied with God’s will is more worthwhile than being occupied with material accumulation.
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:14).
There is nothing enviable about being God’s children, who have surrendered everything to be with Christ. It is a resolve to sacrifice one’s physical life in service to the Lord, having become aware of the futility of living aimlessly. True Christianity invites persecution, false accusations, and every kind of malice, but these very trials strengthen a person’s resolve. God’s begotten children can only be urged to keep reflecting on Jesus’ life on earth.
Scriptures never show Jesus taking time off to enjoy life for Himself. He sought to bring happiness to other people rather than create moments of happiness for Himself. Wherever Jesus was, He always sought to advance the teachings of God’s Kingdom. The same applies to God’s children, who are meant to be viewed as no different.
The Spirit that was with Jesus is with God’s children. Jesus’ thinking pattern is still with God’s children today, just as it was with the early disciples. The question of allowing God’s Spirit to function in one’s life is paramount. Worry about surviving longer in this life ceases to occupy the minds of God’s children. They sacrificially commit themselves to serving others in whatever form God desires, rather than focusing on their own personal interests. There is no need to mourn their deaths, except to adopt whatever they leave behind as their legacy.
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me” (Philippians 1:21–26 NIV).
Paul shows that the only purpose of continuing to live in this world is to do God’s will. For illustration, allow me to use my own example, drawing on my memory of what I have gone through in this life now that I have passed the age of seventy. I have done many things since I was born. As a child, I used to herd cattle for my father, who is no more. The cattle I herded remain in my memory; so too have many years passed.
Some twenty years ago, the meaning of life dawned on me. I realized that I had wasted time doing useless things. I discovered that life was about giving more than it was about accumulating material things for myself. Life became empty without doing anything for humanity. However, at that time I had nothing to give, as I was languishing in abject poverty. Our country had just reached the highest inflationary level ever achieved by any nation in peacetime.
I became gripped by the revelation that life’s worth is contained in giving rather than in receiving. Since I was not gifted in speaking, writing became the only avenue. I have received no income from writing, but I have found satisfaction in practicing the principle of giving others my discoveries. What I write may not have been published by anyone before, but I am projecting what I consider to be true.
My website attracts few readers. But I cannot be discouraged, for I am assured of promoting the principle of giving more than the receiving principle. The content may benefit only future generations. There can be no substitute for the principle of giving, which also represents future generations. However, anyone reading and finding sense in this material can be inspired to disseminate it further, impacting more people than I could possibly ever do. The source is God Himself.
I may be gifted in writing, but that does not mean I should be regarded as better than a person who is skilled in marketing, for instance. This is just as the tools that I am using to write bear the skills of those I may never meet in my lifetime. The work of God should never be attributed to individual personalities, which can sometimes be a stumbling block for some people. A person may discard valuable information not for the worth of its content, but for the person attributed to it. This is one of the reasons why this world has been unnecessarily reduced to being unlivable.
What God has vividly revealed to my understanding is that, for physical life to function as it should, human activities must be conducted with the opposite aim. As long as one spends much time acquiring material possessions for one’s own benefit, one promotes death. The condition of life is generated by adopting the opposite principle. The more one focuses on giving, the more one generates life for oneself. The principle of giving is different from giving while expecting recompense. It is a way of life in which one draws comfort from giving rather than receiving.
Some people have practiced this type of life by default. However, most may not even have realized its foundational principle. God’s nature is giving, far more than receiving. The question of how to survive when focusing only on giving is answered by looking at Jesus. This points to a Man who is not recorded as engaging in any other business activity for income, except doing His Father’s business. He needed shelter, food, and other provisions for survival. But Jesus was never troubled by the need to acquire such material things.
Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:19–20 NIV).
Scripture does not show how the teacher of the law responded. How did he take Jesus’ assertion? We can only assume that he did not find sense in Jesus’ pronouncement. The philosophy of giving cannot be understood by ordinary people, and understandably so, as going against physical survival principles. It takes God’s revelation to understand that the giving principle sustains life, while the receiving principle sustains death.
After death entered through Eden, humanity adopted the most degraded condition of survival. Work became necessary to earn survival. The focus is to work hard for survival or avoid working and starve to death. But even after working so hard, the person still perishes, making work for personal gain a futile endeavor. Without work, survival is considered impossible. However, working for profit should be regarded as different from working for the benefit of others.
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil, you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food until your return to the ground from which you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:17–19 NIV).
This pronouncement was given after death entered, following the eating of the forbidden fruit. From birth to old age, human life involves hard work to obtain self-sustenance. There is no other option for human survival. However, this principle does not apply to those who have returned to being God’s children. Jesus lived a physical life that also demanded sweat, but not for producing one’s own food. Since God dwelt in Him, it was unnecessary for Jesus to engage in such strenuous activities for survival.
Obsession with acquiring material wealth for physical survival is not meant for God’s children. Before entering the ministry, Jesus helped His father in carpentry, but once He began God’s work, there was no time for that anymore. For ordinary people, hard work is necessary for survival until they return to the dust from which they came. God’s children, however, are different, having become aware that they do not originate from the dust. Such people need not be committed to hard work.
God’s children are a direct product of God’s creation, made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27). They still feel hungry and thirsty, also in need of shelter and other conditions for physical survival. But God supplies those requirements through other humans, who may not even be aware that God is using them to provide for His needy servants (Matthew 6:25–33). It is a question of whether the person is drawn by God to do so or not.
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or in need of clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’” (Matthew 25:37–40 NIV).
God’s children are cared for by God Himself, using other humans who may not even be aware of being used by Him. They trust God more than they expect to receive from others; those others may also avoid worrying about their own survival needs, but are more committed to doing God’s work. Just before His departure, Jesus instructed His disciples to preach the gospel and teach those who repented all that He had commanded them. This includes not worrying about personal needs—a teaching that makes no sense to ordinary humans.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:25–26 NIV).
The above Scripture cannot apply to ordinary people. It ought to be taught only to those who have repented and desire to be God’s children. Those of this world, being dead because of the Garden of Eden incident, must sweat for their physical survival. But their survival lasts only within their lifespan, which may be more or less than seventy years. After that, they are forgotten, except when they incidentally serve the needs of humanity. Whether they like it or not, their existence is no different from that of animal species:
“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 9:5–6 NIV).
It takes an analytical person to understand that human birth creates a condition of death, as disconnected from God, the source of human origin. Without God in their lives, such people are like fish out of water. Although appearing alive, a human being is dead unless he or she has received the precious gift of life through Jesus. The condition of receiving life is attained by accepting Jesus’ teachings and applying everything He recommended.
Although God’s children may live unattractively, their life on earth may seem unnecessary for their own upkeep, except when imparting a better life to others. Therefore, to be used by God, they must remain in their physical bodies. But they have become different from those who live miserably on earth and die in old age, or during their hard toil for survival.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, which lays out standards for lifting Zimbabwe out of its current economic depression and into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, offering relief to those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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