The Secret to A Long Life...

A tough old cowboy once counseled his grandson that if he wanted to live a long life, the secret was to sprinkle a little gunpowder on his oatmeal every morning. The grandson did this faithfully and he lived to the ripe old age of 93. When he died he left 14 children, 28 grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren, and a fifteen-foot hole in the wall of the crematorium. 

I laughed the first time a read that story, and again today when I saw it again.  Although the cowboy's secret is pretty funny, I know the true secret to longevity.  It's found in the Bible.  Two particularly come to my mind at the moment:

My child, keep your father's commands and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  Bind them upon your heart forever.  Fasten them around your neck.  When you walk, they will guide you, when you sleep they will watch over you, when you wake they will speak to you. These commands are a lamp, these teachings a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.     Proverbs 6:20-23

 Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long and that it may go well with you ...         Deuteronomy 5:16


It makes good sense to me that we would all live better and longer if we'd honor our parents and listen and heed their teaching and instructions.  That's assuming that parents fulfilled their responsibility to train up their children, I guess.  Mine did!  And, I'm very thankful!  Of course, none of us is guaranteed tomorrow.  We don't know how many years we'll have here on the earth, but when my life here is over, I'll be living in a different place.  We are all eternal beings, and will either live forever in eternal hell, or eternal life in heaven. Thanks to Jesus Christ, His sacrificial death and shed blood to atone for MY sin, I will live forever with Him in heaven.  I've decided to trust Jesus...just as my mother and father taught me!  

All have sinned and fallen short .... The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ....for it is by grace through faith that you are saved...not a result of works, so that no one can boast...God so loved that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes should not perish, but have everlasting life....      Romans 3:23  Romans 6:23  Ephesians 2:8-9  John 3:16

So, if you're interested in longevity, try Jesus!