“Time is long but life is short.” Stevie Wonder
The human tendency is to be presumptuous when it comes to life and death. This past Wednesday my breath was taken away as a heartbroken friend shared that a student on his way to high school, just a few days before graduation, was in a tragic car accident and killed. His brother, also a passenger, survived but had to be flighted to Froedert Hospital.
None of us…young or old…is guaranteed tomorrow. Scripture warns us of the fragility of life: “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:17). Life is short and uncertain. There are no guarantees about tomorrow, let alone next year or ten years from now. You may be young and healthy this morning but could be a corpse by sundown tonight.
Perhaps you’re thinking, “That’s so morbid! I don’t want to think about that!” But if you ignore the fragility of life, you won’t live your life wisely, purposefully, in light of eternity. We must remember that…
Life is frail. None of us know what’s going to happen ten minutes from now. We easily presume on an unknown future that we have no control of and no guarantees about! The healthiest young person among us could easily be dead by nightfall. There are so many easy and unexpected ways to die! Right after college I had a 13-year-old boy die in my arms while we were playing Capture the Flag on a winter retreat. No one knew that Marty Wright had a heart condition. Visit any cemetery. While most of the graves are for those who had full lives, there are many who were taken in youth.
While you shouldn’t obsess on these things, if you never think about them, you’ll waste your life and won’t have a proper view of God and eternity. You’ll foolishly make plans and go on about life as if you’ll be forever young and healthy…but you won’t be.
Life is very short. It was foggy this past week. A vapor is short-lived. The mist is there one moment, moments later it’s gone. Steam rises off your coffee and in just a second, it disappears. Life is like that. In Psalm 90, Moses laments the brevity of life, comparing it to the grass in the field that sprouts in the morning and by evening, it has faded under the hot sun.
Even if you live to be a hundred, how quickly life flies by! One wise wag said life is like “the roll of toilet paper—the closer you get to the end, the quicker it goes!” It’s why Moses prays (90:12), “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” Only God can give us the wisdom we need to spend our short life profitably in light of eternity.
Death is certain. George Bernard Shaw astutely observed, “The statistics on death are quite impressive. One out of one people die.” You’d think that because death is not just probable, but absolutely certain, and that it can happen at any minute, and that each person must stand before God to give an account for his or her life, then every person would be desperate to know how to get right with God. Yet, strangely, people put it out of mind and go on about life as if they will live forever.
They can watch the catastrophe of a volcano in Hawaii or a shooting at a high school in Texas, shake their heads in disbelief, and go out the door to their daily routines without getting on their faces before God and repenting of their sins! That’s truly amazing!
When we hear about disasters, whether human-caused like that Texas shooting, or due to natural causes, such as hurricanes, make sure that you have a right relationship with Jesus Christ, that you’ve repented of your sins and know Him as your personal Lord and Savior. To be unprepared for something that’s 100% certain is beyond foolish.
God is Sovereign. First, this means that we’re not in control. Wonderfully, a loving God is. While there is nothing wrong with making plans or planning for the future. In fact, planning is commended in Scripture (Luke 14:28-32). Financial planning is good stewardship if it’s done in dependence on God and with regard for biblical priorities. It’s wise to have a will or a living trust. It’s wise to have some savings to cover possible future expenses or an emergency. Scripture commends hard work and being rewarded financially for it. The problem is when we plan as if we are in control and not submitting and trusting in our Sovereign God.
The last days of the famed British statesman and colonial leader, Cecil Rhoades, were filled with terrible disappointment. Rhoades died from heart disease at a time when he was beset by personal scandals and discredited by unwise political decisions. As he neared death, those gathered around heard him murmur the words, “So little done, so much to do!”
Rhoades had migrated to South Africa from Britain for health reasons. It was there that he’d made a vast fortune in gold and diamond mining. Though he’d made a fortune and had accomplished so much, he died feeling that there was much more to do.
What is it that you have your hopes and dreams set on? What is it that you plan to do with the rest of your life? You and I must be wise and heed Scripture’s warning on the fragility of life. As Edgar Guest wrote:
He was going to be all that a mortal could be: TOMORROW.
No one would be kinder or braver than he: TOMORROW.
A friend who was troubled and weary, he knew
Who'd be glad of a lift, and he needed it too,
On him he would call and see what he could do: TOMORROW!
But what if tomorrow never comes...
Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.
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