Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Oct/95

Contributor - William McKay

Title - Searching for the Fountain of Youth

Topic - Eternal Life

How often have we stood looking at our face in the mirror? Spending time searching for grey hairs, or looking at the wrinkles and thinking of how time seems to be passing us by. We stop and think of how fast the kids are growing up when another birthday approaches or how the years seem to fly by. When we meet with old friends, our discussions seem to drift to the activities we no longer do as well as when we were sixteen or even twenty-five. We talk about the "good old days." I would be willing to suggest that anyone who has not done this at least once or twice, is lying to themselves. We convince ourselves we are thinking about growing old but usually the question we are really contemplating is how do we recapture our lost youth.

Many people will suggest that it is only our present society which is obsessed with youth. Their argument is reinforced by the images presented by the mass media and the way our society has suggested that the only way to have a good time in life, is to be young. The amount of advertising aimed directly at the youth in our society is staggering. The amount of money spent on special creams or drugs, that will give you a more youthful appearance, would frighten most people. The amount of time and money spent on cosmetic surgery done in Canada and the U.S. alone could finance some small countries for years. All of these support the supposition that this is a modem obsession.

Regardless of what we think, this is not a new obsession. The only difference between our society and the ancient Romans, for example, is that our media has the ability to spread images and information around the world instantly and with the ability to target specific groups. Mankind has always been obsessed with youth and the search for the ability to circumvent the process of aging is, and always will be, an obsession. It is vanity that drives this search. Documentation from the ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans and other societies of the past show these societies were constantly searching for potions, creams and "Magical Elixirs" that would make the user appear younger. More than one person perished in their vain attempts to discover new ways of keeping their youth. One of the most well documented cases is that of a Spaniard by the name of Juan Ponce De Leon who literally spent his life searching for a mythical 'Fountain of Youth", and died in that search in the early sixteenth century, in the jungles of Florida.

There is nothing wrong with being Young. The problem comes in our confusing our want of "eternal youth' with our need for eternal life. Mankind is actually playing a version of the old T.V game show "Let's Make a Deal." Placed before you on a golden platter is a promise from God, a free assurance of "eternal life," or do you want to gamble and choose whatever is behind door #l. You can only chose one. By virtue of being human, suspicion and greed enter the picture. You turn down the promise from God because you believe that nothing in life is free and so you must take whatever is behind door #1 in the hope it will be better than the free promise. You have turned down God's promise and given up your only hope in life because behind that door you chose, is the empty hope of mankind.

Mankind needs to answer some questions. Are we really searching for "eternal life" by way of "eternal youth" or should we be looking in another direction? What will be the results of our search? What do we have and what do we need? Yes, we should look in another direction. We should look in the direction of Him who gave us life. God, in His grace, gave us the life we have and we need to respond to this gift. If we do not give God this recognition, then we will most surely die an "eternal death." We need to have God in our lives. We need to worship God in His glory. We need to praise His Holy name. We need to confess our sinful nature to God and ask His forgiveness for these sins. We need to be right with God. We need to confess to God that we are dead in our sin and ask His forgiveness for the only way to a renewed life is through our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour. We need to believe in Christ. We need to have faith in Christ and with the power of the Holy Spirit, our lives will be renewed.

From the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis, we read where life started by the very breath of God. This shows us that God is the only source of life. The 23rd Psalm tells us that we should not worry, that God will provide everything for our existence and it also tells us of being led beside still waters to restore our souls. In the New Testament, we are shown that God sent His Son to us so we may have eternal life. In John 14:6, Jesus tells us; "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." In John 4: 13-15, Christ tells us that if we drink of the water He gives us, we will never thirst again. We will have eternal life with our Father in Heaven.

We must understand that there is no use searching for "eternal youth" or a mythical "Fountain of Youth," for they are but the vain and empty hopes of mankind which lead to death. Instead we need to look for the fulfilling hope that God has promised us and placed before us, an eternal life in the 'Fountain of Life" that God has given us. Jesus Christ is our "Fountain of Life." He was given to us, by God, as the most perfect sacrifice, so that we would have salvation from our sins and eternal life. Jesus Christ is our only hope from God. All we need to do is come forward, have faith and drink from the fountain as Christ has told us and accept Him as our Saviour. At that time we will find our "Fountain of Life."

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