GENESIS 5: 3-5, 6-8, 18-20, 23-24:
Adam: Adam was 130 years old when his son Seth was born...After Seth was born, Adam lived another 800 years...
Seth: Seth was 105 years old when his son Enosh was born...Afterwards he lived another 800 years....
Jared: Jared was 162 years old when his son Enoch was born. Afterwards he lived another 800 years....
Enoch: Enoch was sixty-five years old when his son Methuselah was born. Afterwards he lived another 300 years in fellowship with God...then, when he was 365, and in constant touch with God, he disappeared, for God took him!
[Living Bible translation]
Living Long
A centenarian is a person who lives to or past 100. A supercentenarian is someone who lives to the age of 110 years or more. It is estimated that only about 1 in 1000 centenarians reach the status of supercentenarians. Even rarer is the group that reaches 115, something that only 34 people in recorded history have reached. See, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/centenarians. Five of those 34 people are recorded to still be living. Id.
In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were about 316,600 living centenarians worldwide. Right now, the United States is estimated to have the greatest number of centenarians, approximately 53, 364 (according to the 2010 census). Japan with 51,376 centenarians (based on 2012 data) and China with 48,921 centenarians (based on 2011 data) follow closely behind.
Thomas Perls is founder and director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston University. Since 1992, the study has been analyzing the mental physical and emotional health of hundreds of centenarians across North America. In his book, Living to 100, some of the health behaviors of centenarians include:
- Being vegetarian, mostly just avoiding red meat;
- Not smoking;
- Regular exercise that results in having a healthy weight;
- Managing stress so that it does not get to you (e.g. through relationships with family, meditation or religion);
- Having a positive, yet realistic attitude;
- Having strong spiritual or religious belief;
- Love of Life [Note that in John 14:6 JESUS said: "I am the way, the truth and the life" ;
- Personal courage- because it is not easy growing older;
- Ability to renegotiate life at every turn and accept their lives through changes such as the great Depression, World Wars and lots of other things.
In "7 Life Secrets of Centenarians," an article by Lynn Peters Adler, August 17, 2013, a number of centenarians offer their "secrets" for longevity:
Exercise: Louise Caulder (101) says "Move it of lose it." She states that she does not leave her bedroom before doing 30 minutes of stretches. Later she walks a mile. She also notes that you also have to exercise your mind as well as your body. George Blevin (100) is a bowler and has won several medals, even at 100 at senior games. Joe Meyser (102) became a golfer at 70, became pretty good at it won a gold medal at 100.
Diet: Lillian Cox (107) stated that she became "quite heavy in her 50s" and then resolved to lose the weight and did so by just eating less. In one community of centenarians it was noted that many of them eat their food on a plate the size of a salad plate and many drank herb tea.
Faith: Almost all the centenarians said their faith has sustained them. Most believe they will be here as long as GOD has a purpose for them. Roberta McRaney (101) said "Perhaps we are here to be an example to others in hard times." Her original home was struck by lightning and burned to ground, as did her rebuilt home.
According to Thomas Perls, an important lesson 'young people' can learn from those remarkable seniors is that healthy lifestyle choices early on in life are the key to living healthier and living longer.
Living In Constant Touch With GOD
While long life is commendable, the life of Enoch reminds us that there is something even greater than living a great number of years—living each and every day (whatever the number) in constant touch with GOD.
Genesis states that Enoch "walked" with GOD. His walk was so close that HE and Enoch just kept on walking. Enoch's conversation with GOD became "so intimate" that they just decided to "not hang up," and to just keep on talking. GOD and Enoch just walked and talked right into eternity----the "greatest" of longevities.
So, as you eat raw today, have an intimate talk with GOD.
Today, work on your longevity. Have faith, be steadfast and BE BLESSED!
