Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, 2 both low and high, rich and poor alike: 3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the utterance from my heart will give understanding. 4 I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle: 5 Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me-- 6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches? 7 No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him-- 8 the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-- 9 that he should live on forever and not see decay.

How much would you give to live forever? There seems to have always been a quest to find the secret to living forever. Whether it be the fountain of youth or some new pill or an ancient herb, the search seems to go on. There have been fortunes spent and lives given to solve the mystery. The irony of this is that not only has the answer been with us all along but eternal life has been offered to us at a price that anyone can afford.

While I cannot buy or earn eternal life, I can accept it without any payment on my part. However, we cannot say it is without cost to us. It actually cost us all that we are and ever will be. Not only can we live forever but we can move from this life and the earth as we know it to live in a new heaven and a earth in the presence of God. It is there that we will no longer have any sickness or dying. There will be no pain or sorrow. There will be no night there but the glory of God will give light to eternal day. Every day will be spent in joy and rejoicing, in praise and adoration of the great God who made us and provided eternal life to us. But how can we have this life?

We are told that we must have faith in God. This means that we put our trust in him so much that we will do anything he tells us to do, without question or without hesitation. In believing his word we accept that Jesus died in our place for our sin and that God raised him from the grave to live forever as our High Priest. It is in this faith that we turn from our selfishness and our sinfulness to live according to his will. Based on this same faith we are then buried with Christ in baptism and raised up to walk as new persons, even as he was buried and raised from the grave. It is this faith that affords us absolute forgiveness of all sin and places us in right standing with God so that we can have his promise of eternal life.

O God, please help my faith so that I can give up my will and accept yours without any doubt. Use me to reach others with your good news so they can have the promise of eternal life also. Help me to only be an encouragement to others and never deter anyone from serving you. In Jesus name I pray.

May God bless each of us as we live for him in hope of eternity.