For Me To Live, Someone Must Die

I read something this morning that made me think. In order for me to live, something else must die. I’m supposed to meet a friend for lunch today. I know I’m going to have some chicken. Where did that chicken come from? Not a Star Trek food replicator. That chicken was born, lived and then died so I could live. Before PETA has a cow, even if I go vegetarian, something has to die for me to live. We don’t eat inanimate things. No one eats rocks, plastic or metal. We eat living things, even if its fruits and vegetables. If I’m going to live, something must die.

I should, perhaps, not let those things die lightly. I should, perhaps, have a great respect for what God has done in this creation. When the cow, pig, chicken, fish, or lamb dies I should have some respect for that. It is not an easy thing for me to live.

However, these in a small, physical way simply call to mind the great spiritual truth. For me to live, someone had to die. The wages of my sins is death (Romans 6:23). The soul who sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:20). This was why God established sacrifices. Death was required. Since life is in the blood, the sacrifice took the place of the sacrificer’s death (cf. Leviticus 17:11). For the Jews, in a real sense, life was sustained by death. If God had not allowed them to kill animals as sacrifice, He would have judged and destroyed them.

Yet, we press on to the even deeper spiritual truth. We seek eternal life, spiritual life. For me to live, someone had to die. That someone was Jesus. Jesus died for us, so we could live and not die (II Corinthians 5:14-15).

Perhaps it doesn’t matter if I respect the circle of life and all that dies to sustain my life on a daily basis. However, I had better respect the life Jesus gave so I could live and not die. Living isn’t free. It cost someone something. Jesus paid that cost.

Thank You, Lord!