Here, we’re told the number of years Adam lived total. We see two important facts that apply to everyone. He lived. And, he died. No matter how long it was – much longer because of that canopy above the earth – he died, just as all do.
However, we should never forget that he lived. God gave him the grace and mercy to be able to live. Some peoples’ days are shorter, some longer, but, while it may sound like baseball great Yogi Berra, it’s true. Everyone who is alive is living.
The amount of information he could have imparted is incredible. The amount he could have gathered is also incredible. Imagine 930 years of arts, science, inventions, anything. As noted, too, genetic problems hadn’t begun to haunt people. He and Eve possessed the great minds, and they were able to pass on much of that to their descendants. Given that great pioneers in various areas have changed the world in a few decades, having a few centuries would mean astounding developments. We don’t know how advanced people were in that day and time, but we do know this – these people lived, and at least a few had the opportunity to create incredible things.
Take the Pyramids in Egypt, for instance. They were built soon after the Great Flood, according to most experts. The technology just to get the shafts so perfectly fitted has only existed for a few decades. And, people still aren’t sure how they were constructed, or how Stonehenge and a few other ancient wonders were created. The Mayans, too, had very advanced astronomy.
So, why did it die out? People stopped using the knowledge. Indeed, they stopped even needing it, they were so concerned with survival after the Flood. Machines may have been built soon after the Flood, but nobody recorded how to make them, and the machines to make the machines to build the Pyramids, or Stonehenge, became unworkable. Soon, all their works perished. And, only a few scant things remained. It’s just like people forgot how to use the information to build aqueducts, or the very elaborate Roman road system, after the Roman Empire declined – the road system in Europe wasn’t as good as those Roman ones till the 1700s, if not later!
That’s just like us, though. Just like Adam, just like that technical knowledge, we all die. The great composers of history, the great painters, the great inventors, are all dead, just as Adam was. As long as he lived, he was on Earth doing things. And yet, his life on Earth came to an end. It didn’t matter how much he contributed. What mattered was that he had a redeemer.
All the great accomplishments that Adam made, whatever they were – no doubt written language, the discovery of fire and its uses, simple tools like the lever and perhaps more complex ones, were among them – added to the sum of all knowledge that people had. However, in the end, those things only added to what was on Earth. All that was counted when he got to heaven were these two things. First, and most importantly, had he put his trust in that Redeemer. Second, what had he done to point people to the future Redeemer.
This, then, is the story of each of our lives. Have you put your trust in the Redeemer – who eventually came in the flesh, and took the punishment for your sin by shedding His perfect blood on the cross, dying for you and rising from the dead – to save you and get you to Heaven? Next, what have you done to point others to Jesus Christ. That can mean witnessing, but it can also mean showing His love, goodness, and compassion to others; not to point them to yourself or just to a “noble cause,” but doing so in order to glorify God, and make Him known. It can also mean prayer, talking with God and having things in common with Him, growing so close to Him that you can understand His will, and His love, for others. It can mean seeking His face in many areas.
We don’t all have the same amount of life. We don’t all have the same opportunities. God cares only about what we do with the opportunities that we have. We all have the opportunity, in some way – even if it’s just through prayer - to show Christ’s love to others, to put the focus off of ourselves and onto God.
