Life is short. It is extremely short. James says that we are mists that appear for a little time and then vanish (James 4:14). This becomes evidently clear when people around us pass away long before we expect them to. We expect everyone to live to be eighty or ninety years old. The truth, however, is that our lives could be taken at any given moment.
Life Is Short
Last week, a man we knew unexpectedly passed away at age fifty-six. He was a husband, father, and a grandfather. No one expected him to be gone anytime soon. That is how fragile life is. That is how little time we actually have here. It reminds me that I want to make my life count while I can.
After hearing the news of this tragedy, my wife and and I were talking about the shortness of life. She mentioned how we work our whole lives away just looking forward to the glory years of retirement. “Once I retire, then I’ll be able to make my life count and make a difference,” we tell ourselves. What if we do not make it to retirement?
I want to encourage you to make your life count today, not tomorrow, and definitely not someday down the road. God has given you desires, passions, gifts, talents, burdens, convictions, and a Great Commission. These are not for nothing. They are not meant for your sixties when you are finally “freed up” to serve the Lord and make disciples. What would it look like for you to start making your life count today?
Live For Today
What if we shifted our mindsets from working hard to build our own little kingdoms so that we can enjoy them one day down the road, to instead displaying God’s kingdom by acting on our convictions and pouring our lives out for His glory? How would that change how our lives currently look? I know mine would look much different.
In no way am I saying that retirement planning is all negative. I definitely believe there is some wisdom in it. However, personally, I don’t want to waste my thirties while I look ahead to my fifties and sixties. The truth is I may never see my fifties and sixties. All I have, and all you have, is today. And we get to choose what we do with it.
In Luke 12, we see a great picture of how mist-like life really is. A rich man had an abundant harvest and didn’t have room to store it all. He had the brilliant idea of tearing down his old barnes to build newer, bigger ones. Then the man said to his soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19). He thought his future was secure and laid out. God had other plans.
“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” (Luke 12:20)
Make Your Life Count
Life is fragile. Our long-term plans can be cut short at any moment. The man in Luke 12 had a plan for himself but the shortness of life took those plans away. He spent his years building a kingdom for himself, but was not around long enough to enjoy it. Remember, our lives are mists that are here and then gone. We can’t be so focused on future plans that we miss what is right in front of us.
The truth is, I don’t know what your life is supposed to look like. I do know, however, that it is meaningful and was created with purpose. What has God called you to do? What are you passionate about? Do you have certain convictions that never seem to fade? Go and make your life count today. Life is short. Don’t wait until the timing is perfect. That time may never come. Today is here. Use it while you have it.