We're All Gonna Die!
“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14). Sobering words from the book of James. In the context of this passage, James warns Christians against planning our lives as if God did not exist. There is nothing wrong with planning and dreaming about the future, but we must acknowledge that the future is exclusively God’s realm. We are not in control of this moment much less the future. Let me share a few practical applications of this verse.
First, this passage proclaims the brevity of life. In these strange times some people have adopted the mindset that when things get back to normal we will do some of the things that we intend to do. We are almost one year into this strange season of life. Waiting around for things to change means wasting the life God has given to us. What can you do today? What does God want you to do today? Let’s get after it.
Second, James teaches us that our priorities today need to be the priorities of eternity. I want to live today in such a way that I will be glad then for what I do now. So much of what occupies my time today will have no eternal value. That’s not to say that the things of this world don’t matter. Actually, the opposite. The things we do in this world are so important that they impact eternity. I want to be about the mission that God has given me as long as I have breath.
Third, this reminds us that death is a universal problem. Modern life is filled with many blessings, and a typically long lifespan is among those blessings. The downside of this is that we do not have much sense of our own mortality. I’m not saying that we should be focused on death all the time, but it is coming for all of us. We need to be ready. We can’t presume that we will be able to get right with God at some future date. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).
Finally, we can trust God with the future. Some of us are more ambitious and dream bigger than others, but we all have plans for our future. Sometimes we agonize or fear that our dreams will never come to pass. We worry over the opportunities and the things we hope to be able to do. God knows our lives from the end to the beginning. He is far kinder, wiser, and more gracious than we even realize. We can trust Him with what all of the tomorrows hold because He holds tomorrow. Psalm 138:8 says: “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.”
No matter how great a life we live, someday, we will die and be forgotten. Let’s make sure our lives here are all about Jesus: “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21).