SHORT THOUGHT ABOUT IMMORTALITY

I think back to the concept of the Stone, and I consider what it represented.

From the very beginning, humans have been afraid of death. In the beginning, Adam and Eve ate from the Fruit of Life, and did not die. They existed in paradise. But they fell through eating the Fruit of Pride. Since then, all humans have been pining for that immortality and paradise. We are to this day nostalgic of that garden, which we will never again find on earth. Throughout history, people have tried to find a cure for death. If you read old stories, you can find people looking for a magic fruit or elixir that will grant them eternal life, such as in the Epic of Gilgamesh, a very ancient story. The tale of the Philosopher’s Stone was not one that J.K. Rowling made up herself. It is an old, medieval legend about a stone that supposedly could grant you eternal life. People believed in it and sought it, but to no avail. So it has been from the beginning, with people looking for a cure for death other than turning to God. 

We see this in our modern society today. People keep trying to make this earth last as long as possible. New inventions are coming out, new modern medicine, and everyday life expectancy increases. We know more, we learn more, we seek more life. This is good, as long as it is kept in proportion. However, many use this technology to replace God. Thousands look for ways of Him. They want to do without Him, and make it on their own. Some even look to bypass the body altogether, hoping of the day when their intelligence can be transferred into a computer. They do not understand the soul. Ultimately, we will never be able to defeat death alone. God must fight it for us. Voldemort sought a similar remedy, one keeping him from dying. All he had was this world, and he was determined not to lose it. 

So what did the Stone do in the first Harry Potter book? Voldemort sought it, to restore him to life. It had a magic elixir, one that, as long as you drank it, could keep you alive. But how did the owners, Nicholas Flamel and his wife, view it? They viewed it like modern medicine. But then, they accepted that they would die. They used it temporarily, but ultimately they did not try to “cheat death” forever. They looked to the world to come. 

We, as Christians, must remember that this life is only temporary. And the only way to life is through our Savior Jesus Christ.