Lobsters
Lobsters are not immortal. You may have heard otherwise, but it isn’t true. They do have a remarkable way of reproducing cells that retards cell death indefinitely. But turns out, getting old brings on a host of health difficulties, each of which may eventually become fatal. They ward off the natural processes better than most species, granted, but death will inevitably get them in the end, as it will all of us.
So if you have been hesitating at the tank of your favorite seafood restaurant, thinking that ordering the lobster will interfere with a sort of miracle of nature, eat away. He will die eventually; there’s no need for you to go hungry over it.
Death is as certain as life, and for us humans as well. We are uniquely suited to stave off death, what with our large brainpans, communication skills and opposable thumbs. Science has done what would have been considered miraculous just a few decades ago, extending life far beyond the parameters that our ancestors accepted unthinkingly.
But the rubber band will only stretch so far. Eventually, even those who eschew cigarettes, fast driving and Taco Bell will give up the ghost. “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
And speaking of judgment, how is your soul these days? Because judgment is as sure as death. Romans 2:16 promises us, “God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” When it comes time for us to be plucked out of the lobster tank of this life, will we be prepared?