LIFE IS SHORT, FOR YEARS TO COME


So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom. (Psalm 90:12)

You've undoubtedly heard the phrase "life is short." If you look up the phrase on the internet, there are numerous memes, quotes and blog posts that speak to the subject. Sometimes the idea is that, since life is short, perhaps we should be more introspective, proceed with caution so that we don't look back with regret for how we've lived our lives.

At other times, the shortness of life is the reason we should let go a little and live it up. A corollary to this is "You only live once" (YOLO). Better to make the most of life while you have the chance, so don't be so rigid and uptight. Again, the idea is that you might have regrets if you walk too circumspectly and let opportunity pass you by.

In the Bible, God addresses the fact that life is short in quite stark terms:

Go to now, you* that say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:' Whereas you* know not what [shall be] on the morrow. For what [is] your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. For that, you* [ought] to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live, and do this, or that.' (James 4:13-15)

Our life is but a vapor that briefly appears before dissipating. It's here and poof, it's gone. So God's admonition is to approach each day according to His will, not to presumptuously expect each day to abide by our personal agenda without regard to Him. For we ultimately don't know what each day will bring. And our times are completely in God's hands, not our own:

A man's heart devises his way: but the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

On the other hand, most people, except for those who are very aged or sick, live with some expectation they will continue to live for some time yet "down the road." You commonly see the claim, for example, in promotional literature or in articles, that if you purchase their reliable product, if you act now or plan ahead, you will be set, you will be comfortably prepared "for years to come."

Jesus speaks to this consideration through the story of a covetous rich man who sought to stockpile all of his accumulated possessions for safekeeping -- for his ease and comfort through the many upcoming years:

And he (Jesus) said to them,

"Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses."

And he (Jesus) spoke a parable to them, saying,

"The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?' And he said, 'This will I do: I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have much goods laid up for many years; take your ease: eat, drink, [and] be merry.'

We naturally desire to have stability in life, a plan so that everything will turn out well for us and our heirs. Achieving that goal seems to be the right and reasonable thing to do. Indeed, simply planning for tomorrow, the unknown or a rainy day is not in itself wrong to do at all.

Yet Christ went on to say:

"But God said to him, '[You] fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be which you have provided?'

"So [is] he that lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:15-21)

The covetous rich man thought he had many years left to enjoy for his pleasure. But his best-laid plans were to no avail as he sought to satiate his soul -- which instead desperately needed eternal redemption for his own welfare. That is, his heart's desire was the polar-opposite from his greatest need on an eternal scale.

So Christ is explaining what happens when we place our chief focus in what this world can provide for our consumption while dismissing our eternal need, which is guaranteed to be far worse when it's our time to die. Some joke that whoever dies with the most toys (ie. possessions) wins. But the only way to be prepared for eternity is to be covered by the atonement that God has provided in Jesus Christ. And Christ reiterates what we already know to be true by nature that we have no assurance we will live for another day. That is, He underscores the importance and urgency to make sure we are rich toward God (and others), not for our own excess and luxuriance. If we don't, then we are outright fools for our spiritual shortsightedness according to God.

A parallel warning is seen in Job 21:13-18:

13 They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.
14 Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.
15 What [is] the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him?
16 Lo, their good [is] not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and [how oft] comes their destruction upon them! [God] distributes sorrows in his anger.
18 They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carries away.

Sometimes life is taken very suddenly and unexpectedly. Even when it's not, you're certainly familiar with the shock or jolt from hearing of someone's unforeseen death who was either close to you or who was well-known. All the more when it comes abruptly and instantly. This happens quite a lot to people on the daily -- imagine going about your business and barely having enough time to realize that your life is swiftly going to be over.

Don't be fooled into complacency that you have "years to come" -- like so many presume to do. The fact is, even if you do have years to come -- in reality they aren't all that many, and the years we have fly by in a short moment. Even if we live to a ripe, old age, life is still but a vapor that is quickly spent.

So God gives us notice that living in covetousness and comfort in this world, apart from Him and His will, is vanity. It is a futility that leaves our soul empty and leads to eternal darkness over against the light and the eternal life of happiness and blessing found in Jesus Christ.

To focus solely on the attainments of this world and on this present life is a self-centered goal. It is a denial of accountability to God and a rejection of the highest good that God has for His people through His Word, but it's the worst kind of idiocy (foolishness) considering this life is so short and all of eternity is swept aside as nothing. God sets the record straight in Psalm 49:

6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
7 None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him:
8 (For the redemption of their soul [is] precious, and it ceases forever:)
9 That he should still live forever, [and] not see corruption.
10 For he sees [that] wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought [is, that] their houses [shall continue] forever, [and] their dwelling places to all generations; they call [their] lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man [being] in honor abides not: he is like the beasts [that] perish.
13 This their way [is] their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.
14 Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.
16 Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him.
18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul: and [men] will praise you when you do well to yourself.
19 He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they shall never see light.
20 Man [that is] in honor, and understands not, is like the beasts [that] perish.
(Psalm 49:6-20)

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction comes upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. (I Thessalonians 5:3)

Very sad prospect, isn't it? It is not worth selling your soul to gain a few years of worldly pleasure in exchange for eternal life in Christ:

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)

If you've lived your life apart from God according to your own impulses, or the discernment of other fallen humans in the same spiritual state apart from God -- while you still have breath it is not too late to call upon Him for spiritual direction that leads to eternal life. While life will always be "short" in this present world, of course, ultimately those in Christ possess eternal life because He has paid the penalty of eternal death on their behalf, freeing them from the bondage of death of sin. This is reality, this is not just fantasy. You know certainly that eternal death is reality, it's what most believe will meet them at the grave. But Christ has come to redeem His people from such a gloomy demise. That's why the Gospel is called the Gospel -- it is good news or glad tidings of joy for those who are found in Him.


11.24.2002, Last updated 6.19.2022