The Brevity Of Life

 

            No one that I know enjoys thinking about physical death.  I suppose that we generally push the thought to a deep corner of our minds, so that we just don’t have to deal with the issue.  In one sense, this is not a bad thing, for if we are faithful Christians, then “to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21).  And if we are “about our Father’s business,” we need not worry with death, because “to die is gain.”  However, the thought of death can be a helpful thing to those who are without Christ, for perhaps that fear will turn them to Him.  For this purpose, let us be aware of the brevity of our lives.

            Moses rightly stated, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Psalms 90:10).  We are each given a finite period in which we may live on this earth.  We were never meant to live eternally in this land.  Then, after this life, we have been appointed to face a final judgment (Hebrews 9:27). 

            It is folly for us to expect to have any definite amount of time here, for we do not know what even the next moment holds.  “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”  So, we ought to live our lives with the attitude that, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:13-15). 

            Knowing how unsure life is, it is so unwise to place hope and trust in anything in this world.  We must be careful that we “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt 6:19-20).  It is only when we do this that we can have a lasting hope.

            Christians can take comfort in these words: “…Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!" (Revelation 14:13).  But, if you are without Christ, then death for you is a thing to be greatly feared. 

----Darrell Powell