More Life

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)

As I'm writing this, I'm listening to Don McLean's song, "American Pie." It's being streamed over the internet from Radio Scotland and I'm reliving part of my past, remembering when the song first came out. Lots of theories have been written and discussed about the song, but Don MacLean himself dispelled most of the myths surrounding "American Pie". In an interview, he recently said, "The song was written as my attempt at an epic song about America, and I used the imagery of music and politics to do that. Also, I was really influenced by the Sgt. Pepper album, and the American Pie album was my attempt to do that, but the song totally overshadowed the album."

It is a beautiful song and one that speaks to the hearts and souls of many people. The lines that keep playing through my head are:

So bye-bye, Miss American Pie.
Drove my chevy to the levee,
But the levee was dry.
And them good old boys were drinkin' whiskey and rye
Singing, "This'll be the day that I die.
This'll be the day that I die."

"This'll be the day that I die." "The wages of sin are death." Both those statements will become true for every one of us, but the question faith asks is this: "Is that where we want to leave it, or do we want more life?" If we want more life, then the answer is simple: "The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." So, for Christians, for those who give their hearts to Jesus and believe in His words, the song we call "life" never ends. I don't know about you, but I love life, and I want more of it. That's why I believe in Jesus. That's why I follow Christ. Only He has the words to eternal life. Only He is God's gift to the world, through Whom we can be saved and in Whom is eternal life.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we love life, and we want more of it. We can't extend our days on earth or win this promise for ourselves. Only You can give us this, if we truly come to You, humbly and sincerely, asking for forgiveness, placing our souls into Your hands, and allowing You to restore us to God. Help us to do this today, so that our last day will not be the day that we die, but will become the first of an endless stream of days. In Your holy name, we pray. Amen.