According to recent studies, it appears we’re nearing the limit for human longevity.
We’ve made impressive strides over the past century and a quarter. For instance, a baby born in the year 1900 would have had an average life expectancy of only 32 years. Currently, that figure is more than 71 years, primarily due to vast advances in healthcare, better nutrition, cleaner water supply, and a higher standard of living across large swathes of society.
In the United States, we’ve fared somewhat better, with an average life expectancy in 1900 of around 47 years. Today, that number has leaped to nearly 78 years. As encouraging as these statistics may be, humans’ lifespans appear to have built-in limits; advancements in longevity may be coming to a screeching halt, particularly in countries that already enjoy a higher living standard.
Despite the Constraints
Over the next 30 years, the number of Americans 100 years of age or older is expected to quadruple. This, however, is no indication that we’re leading the pack regarding longevity. On the contrary, the USA is slipping behind other countries in the age game.
According to researchers, among countries where people live longer, “the U.S. doesn’t even rank in the top 40.” Why? Part of the reason for America’s weak placement on the longevity scale is that it’s more intensely impacted by problems that take the lives of younger people, such as “drug overdoses, shootings, obesity and inequities that make it hard for some people to get sufficient medical care.”
And although post-WWII Baby Boomers tend to outlive previous generations, they more often experience health problems. But it appears that those in the following generation are in an even worse predicament. A CNN Health article reported: “In 2020, a study suggested that Gen X faced more years of ill health than Baby Boomers, with [Gen X-ers] in their 40s and 50s found to be in worse physical shape than [Baby Boomers] … were at the same age.”
Defying the Age Limit
The oldest-lived person in recent times was Jeanne Calment. Born in France in 1875, she survived to the age of 122—a hair above average, wouldn’t you say? The record for “oldest living person” is currently held by Tomiko Itooka of Japan; as of this writing, she is well past 116 years of age. The United Kingdom’s John Tinniswood is presently the oldest known living man at more than 112.
Millions would like to follow in their footsteps.
The longevity industry, which targets the molecular or cellular level to slow aging and improve health, has become big business in the 21st century. One of its key sectors, biotechnology, has seen some fascinating breakthroughs in recent years. In some studies, for instance, using stem cells to change the epigenome in mice has resulted in dramatic reversals of the effects of aging. However, some scientists are skeptical that this will translate to the same type of benefit in humans in the near future. Only time, likely decades, will tell.
Meanwhile, what hope do we have? Quite a lot. While we can’t stop the aging process, there are things we can do to slow it down and reduce our chances of chronic disease. In fact, we’ve got enormous power to alter our own epigenome—to literally change the expression of our DNA—through lifestyle changes such as eating a healthy, plant-based diet and exercising regularly.
Yet, even in the best-case scenarios, good health practices and medical science can take us only so far.
An Innate Desire
Most people—at least when things are going well for them—would like to live forever. We don’t want our lives and the lives of our loved ones to end. Something about that inevitability seems so wrong. There are even people who have attempted suicide and failed who have admitted they didn’t really want to die. This shouldn’t be surprising; we were designed with an innate desire for life that never ends.
The wise King Solomon explains that “[God] has put eternity in [our] hearts” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). In the beginning, our Creator made us to live forever. But, by human choice, His perfect plan went south, and tragedy has resulted ever since—and the devastating consequences go way beyond the deterioration of our cells as we age.
Not only has our rebellion against God destroyed our bodies, relationships, and environment, but it has also turned our hearts away from spiritual things. This leaves us with a bleak outlook—physical and spiritual doom—doesn’t it? Well, it doesn’t have to.
Though He could have done so, our compassionate God hasn’t left us without hope. There’s a straightforward way we can live forever. Though “the wages of sin is death,” we can choose to accept an alternative outcome because “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Our only hope for an unlimited future is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ, who stated, “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life” (John 5:24). His promise and gracious gift of eternal life are meant for every person who chooses to follow Him.
Want to know more about accepting God’s gift of eternal life? Read the article Get to Know Jesus.