In his own words Benjamin Franklin wrote in The Epitaph of Benjamin Franklin, 

The Body of

Benjamin Franklin,

Printer, 

(Like the cover of an old book,

It's contents torn out, And stript of its lettering and gilding,)

Lies here, food for worms,

But the work shall not be lost, 

for it will, as He believed, appear once more, 

in a new and more elegant edition,

Revised and Corrected

by

The Author.

(Jared Sparks, ed., From The Works of Benjamin Franklin, vol. 1 [London: Benjamin Franklin Stevens, 1882]).

Benjamin was a scientist, author, diplomate, philosopher and printer. But in all that, he was also mortal! If you google, "What does mortality mean?" one of the definitions we say, "the state of being subject to death." In the Book of Genesis we read that after God created, that he saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31)

God placed man in the midst of the garden, in the middle of all that was good, to tend and keep it. Adam the first man was told, "of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).

Of course we know the story, we know what happened, we know that Adam and Eve did the one thing they had been commanded not to. 

In their disobedience they turned their back on the King of Kings, and denounced their citizenship and became subject to death. They were now mortals!

This nature is now passed down to all of mankind as heirs of disobedience. In the Letter to the Church at Rome, the Apostle Paul writes, "...by one man's disobedience many were made sinners..." (Romans 5:19a)

We therefore find our state to be one on mortality, or one of being subject to death! And if that was the whole story, death would be our only end.

But praise God, Romans 5:19 goes on to say, "so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." 

While all of mankind has had death handed down from generation to generation it doesn't need to end there! In Romans chapter 8 Paul tells us, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:1) Through Christ we can be atonedl, having the severed relationship with God restored. Christ death payed the penalty as a substitutionary sacrifice for us.

It is in this hope that we, like Benjamin Franklin can say, 

the work shall not be lost, for it will, as We believe, appear once more, 

in a new and more elegant edition, Revised and Corrected

by The Author.

God is the Author of all life, would you be reconciled and restored to a right relationship with him? You can be today by surrendering to Christ as your sacrifice and Lord.