One Man’s Attempt to Beat Death

Bryan Johnson plans to beat death and live forever. Seriously.

So what that no one has done this before? Such negative thinking has not stopped Johnson from giving it all he’s got. Consider his daily routine:

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  Takes 111 pills a day.

• Wears a baseball cap that shoots red light into his scalp.
• Views eating cookies and sleeping less than eight hours as “an act of violence” to his body.
• Sleeps with a laser face-shield to stimulate collagen growth and wrinkle reduction.
• Uses a morning light-therapy lamp (which mimics sunlight) to reset his circadian rhythm.
• Exercises religiously every day
• Eats an extremely restricted and excessively regimented diet.

Lest you think Bryan Johnson is some kind of whacko who has been cruising too many off-the-wall, snake oil websites, he’s not doing this on his own. He has handed off every decision about his body to a team of scientists and medical doctors. They use data collected daily to develop this strict health routine.

I don’t know about your health insurance plan, but mine does not cover a whole team of doctors prescribing 111 pills or a cool ballcap—even if it does shoot red light. That’s not a problem for Johnson since he is worth hundreds of millions. A few years ago, he sold his company and has spent the last three years creating his life extension program. He’s spent $4 million developing this system he calls Blueprint.

Being independently wealthy, Johnson also has time for this nonstop regimen and attention to his body. But this is not about having a muscular, well-built, youthful body. Bryan Johnson is passionate about getting his 46-year-old organs to look and act like the organs of an 18-year-old—and keeping them there.

I’ve got lots of questions. What’s the point of living a long life if you can’t enjoy a scoop from Baskin-Robbins on Sunday afternoon? What about that occasional evening when you just want to be a couch potato, binge watch TV, and eat Cool Ranch Doritos? Is it really an act of violence against your body to stay up late and stare with wonder at the nighttime sky? And where’s the joy in not aging if my wife and friends continue down the aging path?

I believe in maintaining a healthy body, but life is more than being physically fit. Life is more than existence.

Let me offer an easier—and better—approach to living forever. Trust the One who created you in the first place. Jesus promises us eternal life when we place our trust in Him. It doesn’t require turning away from cinnamon rolls; it requires turning away from sin. When we repent, He restores, makes us a new creation, and gives us new life.

Sure, we may physically die, but that is only a momentary transition to a life with a perfect body, a life that never ends. The ultimate way to beat death.

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

“He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself” (Phil. 3:21).

I don’t mind growing old. The rising number of aches and pains that enter the conversation with my doctor are only reminders that an eternal perfect body awaits me. Even better, with each passing year, I may look older, but I feel closer to Jesus. My walk with Him continues to get better. I’ll take walking with Jesus over a regimen of pills and laser face-shields.

And it didn’t cost me $4 million. It only cost me my pride, self-centeredness, and my sin. But what I get in return is worth it.

Eternally worth it.

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Source: The Man Who Thinks He Can Live Forever

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Banner photo by Ian Taylor on Unsplash.