Suppose I bought a new car, and each week I replaced a few parts with identical new parts until eventually I had replaced all the parts. Would it be the same car I originally purchased? The logical answer would be no.
Replacing old parts with new parts changes the identity of an object, but could I say the same thing about people? After all, my body is a continually changing organism in which cells are constantly reproducing and dying off. In fact, it takes about seven years for all of my cells to be entirely replaced.
If that is true, are past pictures of me really pictures of “Me” or are they just pictures of an ancestor who resembles me? Is there any reason for me to fear or look forward to the future if, when the future arrives, it won’t really be “Me”, since the current “Me” will have ceased to exist?
Is there any reason to reward or punish good and bad behavior if the current person is just one link in a chain of successive individuals?
The reason for us to find meaning in or appreciate past experiences, enjoy the present, or look forward to future ones, is if we believe that the “Me” that has those experiences is more than the physical “Me” that is constantly changing. My identity is more than this physical body. “I” am a soul which remains constant through changes in my physical self. My memories are mine because “I” experienced them. My future is mine because “I” will be there.
God has given “Me” the promise of eternal life, and “I” will be there to experience it.
He has promised me a brand new body, fit for the heavens. “I” will take off this current physical body like old clothes, and put on the new one, but it will still be the same “Me” who enjoys paradise with God forever.
Pretty cool concept, dontcha think?