The Brevity of Life

Christians and non-Christians alike often forget how short life is. True, we know in theory that life is short, but nothing brings us face-to-face with our own mortality like the death of a loved one or friend does. In every stage of life, we have ambitions and goals, ranging from what we are going to eat for lunch to what kind of house we want when we get enough money to where we will go when we are retired. Death interrupts these plans. Are we ready to die? One of my relatives got into a car for the last time when she was only fifteen. I am nineteen, am I ready to die? I don't just mean, "Am I saved?" I know I am, praise the Lord.  I mean, if I died tomorrow, what would I regret? What would I wish I could have done before I died? 

Death raises the question of what is really important to accomplish in life. Americans get caught up in the now. We work so hard for the pleasures of life, forgetting about how short life really is. Christians in America are bombarded with the American dream every day. "You know you need this!" Screams a commercial on TV. "Indulge yourself - you deserve it." Tempts an ad in a magazine. And we swallow it - hook, line, and sinker. James 4:13-17 has a severe warning against this type of thinking that is so rampant among today's culture: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'  As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them." 

Satan wants us to look at the statistics and think we will not die. God does not care about statistics, and he probably laughs at our feeble attempts to predict the future. How much clearer does he have to be? We don't know what is going to happen. We can make our plans and have our goals and ambitions because that's what humans do, but are we focusing on what is really important?

Why am I thinking so much about my mortality? I am not just being morbid and trying to get you all to do the same. I actually believe that pondering our mortality is a healthy exercise encouraged by the Bible. Honestly, I was not even thinking about this until two days ago, when a got a wake up call in the form of a text message. My friend said, "I want to let you know, our friend Jason died last night." Jason was in his mid-twenties, a father of three, and had become a Christian only a year ago. When he did, he did not waste any time. He went to Southeastern. He had such a sweet spirit every time he talked to me or anyone else. And then came the cancer. And last Saturday, it was over. And I asked God, "Why?" 

"Why do you need Jason more than his family does? And why did he not get to live more of his life as a Christian for you?" God showed me that he is sovereign and Jason believed that, I know. When our friends die, those of us left behind wonder why. But even though I cannot see it right now, God definitely has a purpose for everything he does. Already something good has come out of this seemingly untimely tragedy: I was forced to think about my own death. I don't have a terminal illness, but I might someday. I haven't ever wrecked a car, but I might someday. Or God could simply bring me home by keeping me from drawing one more breath. What kind of God would do that? The kind of God who sees the big picture even when we can't. The kind of God who says, "...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." (John 12:24) Does it make sense now? Not really. I still can't figure out why God would let people die young, but it is a comforting thought that the kind of God who sent his own Son to die in our place holds our lives in his hands. No true harm can ever come to his loved ones. Death isn't  it.

Think of it this way: when you were a child, your parents told you not to do some things, like crossing the street by yourself, etc. Well, you might have come up with a million excuses, and you might not have understood why they said that. I know I did.  And why? Because you and I could not see the bigger picture, and our parents could. That is how it is with God. The Bible says he is all-seeing and all-knowing. Which one of us can claim that? Not me! So we shouldn't think we know better than God.

Now back to the topic at hand. What if we die young? If I died right now, my loved ones would be left with a messy room to take care of. That is not how I want to be remembered. But all humor aside, I think of all the things I could have said and done with just my family, and I realize that I need to change that first and foremost. And what about Jesus' command to go and make disciples of all nations? Life is short for me and there are non-Christians out there dying without Christ. Why am I holding off? If I looked back over my life, I would see so many missed opportunities. I can't change the past, but I can do something about the present and therefore affect the future. 

I have been in tears a number of times in the past few days when I have thought about the fact that my friend's life is now over. I am thankful that he is singing praises to the Lord right now. And now, I am also thankful that his death has given me a wake-up call in my life. I will not waste my life, so help me God!