HERE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  James 4:14

       It seems to me that the world takes life way too frivolously.  One never knows when their time on this earth is up.  Think about James’ illustration.  Mist.  Here one moment, gone the next.  We like to think of ourselves as something much more than mist or a speck of sand on the world’s beaches.  In reality, our impact is pretty small, unless we are doing heaven’s business.  Anything done for the King has eternal ramifications. 

            If our life were so seemingly insignificant compared to the whole of life, why would God give us a second thought. Revelation 4:11 says, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are, and were created.” ⁽¹⁾ The Lord created us for His good pleasure.  John 3:16 proclaims, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." ⁽²⁾ And again in Paul’s letter to the Roman believers, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)⁽³⁾

Being His child we are deeply and intimately loved without condition. We may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but to God we have infinite value.  While it’s true that we are here today and gone tomorrow, the eternity that we have chosen, by its very definition, shall last forever.  We mustn’t become arrogant of our spiritual standing, for a haughty spirit is unacceptable to the Lord⁽⁴⁾.  We are to proceed through life with a humble spirit, emblematic of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and not think more of ourselves than we ought.  We are nothing without the Lord.  “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Christ is the vine; we are the branches that draw our strength from that vine.

          Knowing all this about ourselves, we need to have a healthy opinion of just exactly who we are in Christ.  We are His prized possession.  We were worth dying for; His blood paid for our sin.  That’s the value we have.  No one else in existence could have ever done what Christ willingly did for us all.  Embrace that truth, live like Christ and know your heavenly inheritance is assured.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

⁽¹⁾ The 21^st Century King James Version

⁽²⁾ English Standard Version

⁽³⁾ English Standard Version

⁽⁴⁾  Proverbs 16:18 NLT “Pride goes before destruction and haughtiness before a fall.”