Days, weeks, months, and years are what we use to measure the length of our natural lives. Time is indeed valuable, because our short span of existence on Earth determines our eternal destiny.
The other day, I noticed a moving truck standing in front of my neighbor’s house. He told me that he was moving to another city, where he would be able to earn more money. However, that same evening, he died in a car accident.
The following words from James 4:13–15 came to my mind as a warning: “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. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’”
All the World’s a Stage
When I was young, this world seemed like one big stage to me. Walking to school, I saw wildflowers growing by the wayside, and when strong winds swept across their delicate stems, the swaying fields of grain seemed almost like living creatures. The old tree in front of the school seemed like a mighty giant who had already withstood a thousand storms.
Then, one day, a dark shadow crept across my life. First, one of my childhood friends died. Then, a short while later, I lost my uncle and my grandfather in quick succession. At one of their gravesides, I remember a preacher saying that everything that lives must die someday.
The next day, on my way to school, I said to the flowers, “You will die someday.” Looking past them, it suddenly occurred to me that the harvesters would soon mow down the swaying grain. Then I passed the big tree and cried, “You’re going to die too!”
Time Is a Gift From God
Time cannot be bought or sold; it is a gift from God. Scripture does not tell us how long we will live, but it does tell us how to live. The length of our lives, measured in months and years, is not what matters most; what is important is how we live, and the motives behind our words and actions.
A Journey We Are Forced to Make
We had no choice in the parents we were given. We are beings created by God and are on a path that we cannot travel a second time. We are compelled to go forward, to a place where everyone must go and from which no one can return. It is sad to say that we have all been misled by the enemy of our souls and have wasted much time on the wrong path. If you, dear reader, are still unredeemed, hurry to God while the gates of grace are still open! If you have wandered away, return to your Father’s house! And if you are a careless Christian, fulfill the task entrusted to you before night comes, when no one can work anymore!
Time Is Fleeting
As children, time seemed to move so slowly. But before long, we were suddenly in adolescence and then, the next time we looked, we were in middle age. Age creeps up on us quietly, like the snow that falls from the sky at night. We can only rub our eyes, look back, and wonder how the days and years have passed.
We remember the days of our youth, when we spent the golden spring of our lives with our fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. Time brings great changes, and as we look back, we see many whom we have loved—and, perhaps, could have loved better—but they are already gone.
A friend once invited me to visit him. I gladly accepted the invitation and spent a pleasant evening with his family. A few weeks later, he invited me again, but this time he seemed very depressed. When I arrived at his house, he broke down in tears, telling me that his wife, who had welcomed me so kindly a few weeks ago, had suddenly died.
What I remember most were his words of bitter remorse: “If only I had one more chance with her! I would treat her with more love!”
Life Is Short
The writers of antiquity often tried to describe the brevity of life. One compared it to a shadow, appearing for a moment and then disappearing in the blink of an eye. Another likened life to an eagle soaring over a mountain peak, watching its unsuspecting prey before suddenly diving down, seizing its victim, and soaring back into the air with its catch.
Other images used to illustrate how short life is include the breadth of a hand, a messenger hurrying away, and, in Moses’ words, “We finish our years like a sigh” (Psalm 90:9). In verses 10 and 12, he adds, “The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away…So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
The End of Time
We are all destined to die someday. On that day, the period we call time comes to an end, and with the end of our earthly time, the door of opportunity closes forever.
Death is not an accident of nature; rather, it is a universal destiny brought about by sin. For our inner being, death is only a change of place, not of condition. At physical death, the body returns to the earth, and our natural body is dissolved. By contrast, our soul is immortal (see 2 Corinthians 4:16, 18) and will live on. The Bible clearly states that death and the grave have no power to free us from guilt. Time is therefore a period of testing and grace; if we let this opportunity pass, we will be lost in eternity.
Dear reader, your own eternal destiny depends on how you use your time. Use it well: turn to God in repentance, and live for Him during the time He has given you!
J. G. Anderson
Be the first to comment