“For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14b). The Bible reminds us that life is so short that it may be compared to the steam that rises off your coffee, but then soon dissipates and disappears.
Earlier this month, I was returning from a great week teaching a block course on “Pastoral Counseling” to 35 doctoral students in an Asian country. As I transferred planes in Hong Kong on the way home, I received a message that one of my students had died on his journey home from class. As a diabetic, he simply drank a glass of sugar cane juice, went into a diabetic coma, and died. At just 53 years of age, he left behind a wife, three children, and a growing church ministry. Now he’s in glory with his Savior. Life is so short and temporary.
Because life is so short and temporary, try to make every day count for the Lord. Though we should prepare for the future, today may be your last day on this earth. So what can you do? I remember speaking to an older believer who boasted as she lived an unhealthy lifestyle, “My years are in the Lord’s hands. I have no control over the day I breathe my last breath!” I replied, “Yes, the Lord knows your last day and you have no control over when that last day will be, but you do have some control over the quality of your life until that last day! Do you want to be bedridden from a heart attack or crippled by a stroke until the day you breathe that last breath?” She was contemplatively quiet.
Yes, life is short. But until the Lord calls us home, let’s live this life to the fullest. Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness (Matthew 6:33), but do not neglect the body that God has given you with which to serve Him (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Applying 1 Timothy 4:8, educate yourself, eat healthy, and exercise your body and mind. Live each day for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) because life is short and today might be your last!
