Is There More To Life Than Living And Dying?

Some people ask the following question:

Is there more to life than living and dying?

Why would people ask this question?

For several reasons.

Let’s look at three of these reasons.

Reason #1: Some people have experienced many things in life and are left empty.

Reason #2: Some people are educated about much in life and are left empty.

Reason #3: Some people have evaluated life and all that is happening and will happen in the world and are left empty.

This empty feeling leaves them asking:

Is there more to life than living and dying?

This question leads to discouragement and depression for many people.

In their discouragement and depression, some try fill the empty void within with pleasure, people, projects, pursuits, or philanthropy.

Yet at the end of the day or the end of their lives, the question continues to nag them,

Is there more to life than living and dying?

They try to ignore the nagging sensation.

They try to numb the nagging sensation.

But it is always there…Is there more to life than living and dying.

There is something deep within them that truly believes there is more to life than living and dying, or they would not be asking the question.

They just have not found the answer.

So they continue with more pleasure, people, projects, pursuits, or philanthropy.

Is there an answer to this question?

Is there more to life than living and dying?

Yes…there is more to life than living and dying.

The answer to this question is not pleasure, people, projects, pursuits, or philanthropy…but it is a person.

Who is this person?

This person is Jesus.

Some will exclaim, “Really…Jesus! Come on…don’t give me that.”

Some will roll their eyes.

Some will make a smirk.

If that is you, don’t be so quick to reject Jesus.

Jesus is the most famous person to ever live.

Jesus is the only person who split time with his birth, marking time as BC and AD.

Jesus is probably the most discussed historical figure.

Jesus is said to have risen from the dead.

Many people try to explain away the resurrection…which tells us that something happened after his death.

Why try to explain something away that never happened?

What if the resurrection did happen?

If the resurrection happened, then there is more to this life than living and dying.

The Bible provides insight into the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Some may roll their eyes and smirk at the Bible.

However, the Bible is a collection of writings by real people that were compiled into one volume.

Some of these writers claim to be eyewitnesses of Jesus and his resurrection.

These people include Matthew, John, Peter, and Paul.

Luke, a historian, personally interviewed many people who knew Jesus and wrote his accounts in Luke and Acts.

Luke also traveled with Paul (this starts in Acts 16 with the word “we”), and therefore provides eyewitness accounts of his experiences with Paul.

The collection of writings contained in the Bible can’t be disregarded as fiction.

Matthew, John, Peter, Paul, and Luke were real people who wrote real letters.

A thinking person cannot discount these letters as fiction.

All of these letters point to the reality of the birth of Jesus, his life, death, burial, and resurrection.

One of these writers, Paul, wrote the following:

For me to live is Christ, to die is gain (see Philippians 1:21).

Let’s look at this statement in context (Philippians 1:21-24).

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

Notice that death was not the end for Paul.

Death was gain for Paul.

Why was death gain for Paul?

The reason death was gain for Paul is that he was confident he would see and be with Christ, meaning Jesus, when he died.

Paul was torn…if he died, he would be with Jesus.

However, if he lived, his life would be productive in the lives of people.

When Paul wrote this, he was in a Roman jail, awaiting his death sentence and eventual death (Philippians 1:13).

For Paul, dying was great gain for him because he would be with Jesus…yet living was great gain for others because he could tell them about Jesus and teach them about the grace of Jesus, which is what Jesus told him to do (Acts 26:15-18; Galatians 1:6-12).

Paul did not always believe in Jesus.

There was a time when Paul would say, “Really…Jesus! Come on, not Jesus.”

Paul would roll his eyes at the mention of the name Jesus.

Paul would smirk at the mention of the name Jesus.

Paul would even track people down who believed in Jesus and throw them into prison.

Then one day the resurrected, ascended Jesus appeared to Paul, which totally changed his life…giving Paul a reason to live and providing him great gain when he died.

Luke writes about this in Acts 9, which is in the Bible.

Paul writes about this in his letters, which are in the Bible.

So how would Paul answer the question:

Is there more to life than living and dying?

He would say yes…there is more to life than living and dying.

And this more to life is Jesus.

Jesus himself made many statements about life in the book of John in the Bible.

John records many of the miracles Jesus performed in his book.

John writes in John 20:30-31

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah [Christ - the One sent by God to be the Savior of the world], the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

The reason John wrote the Book of John was so that people would believe Jesus is the Christ, the One sent by God to be the Savior of the world.

As Savior of the world, Jesus died for the sins of all people, he then defeated death by rising from the dead.

John writes in 1 John 4:14,

And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

John also wrote in 1 John 5:13,

I write these things to you who believe in the name [Jesus] of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Eternal life begins the day a person believes in Jesus.

While you live, your life has purpose, to know Jesus relationally.

And when you die, you have great gain, to be with Jesus personally.

So there is more to life than living and dying…it is Jesus.

If you have never believed in Jesus for salvation, today you can.

Below is a simple prayer to express your belief in Jesus.

Jesus, I believe you lived, died, and rose from the dead. I believe you died for my all my sins and in your resurrection you defeated death. I now have eternal life with you…for to me to live is you, Jesus, and to die is gain.

If you made the decision to believe in Jesus today, we would love to know. Send us a message from the Contact Us page letting us know you have believed in Jesus.

If you would like to learn more about Jesus, Brad has many resources on this website that can be accessed from the Home page.

One article that may interest you is an article Brad wrote, Three Reasons I Believe In God.