Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. – James 4v13-14
I think it is interesting to notice the kinds of plans James uses when he talks about the shortness of life. “We are going to go to this city, spend some time there, run a business, and make a profit.’
For some people life is all about what we can do to make sire that we make the biggest gain. It is tempting to spend our whole life trying to can get and grabbing at the brass ring that we may or may not ever get. We make plans based on what is going to benefit us the most.
The problem is that it is so easy to get caught in this trap that we forget what life really is. What is life? It is nothing more than the morning mist that is quickly burned off by the rising sun. It is there, vaguely defined and sort of ethereal, and then it is gone. Poof! Life is over. The days, weeks, months, years, and decades have passed away and we ask ourselves, ‘what have I really done?’
We are constantly reminded of the brevity of life. Yet another television personality is dying at a tragically young age. She was well known for her party lifestyle and free living just a short time ago now she is dying of cancer in her mid-20s. She could never have imagined at the height of her popularity that she would be dead in a very short time.
Our lives are so short, so fragile, and so fleeting. What are doing with them?
2 comments:
Have you heard Toby Mac's song "Lose Your Soul"? I just heard it again this week--very convicting because you know how I love shiny activities.
Father God, I am clay in your hands
Help me to stay that way through all life's demands
'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me
And every little thing I make up my mind to be...
Everything that I see draws me
Though it's only in You that I can truly see that its a feast for the eyes- a low blow to purpose
And I'm a little kid at a three ring circus
It really struck me how much I am like a kid at a 3-ring circus: ooh, that looks fun; that could be good too--and either I flit from item to item or I'm paralyzed by indecision. Life's a vapor; I need to figure out what God wants for me and do it! Good reminder (as always).
What an excellent picture. That three ring circus has such an appeal, but, in a couple of hours the circus is over.
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