James 4:14 “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’ (verse 15).” Plans are all well and good, but James warns us not to be complacent and self-sufficient as we look ahead. Our times are in God’s hands.
I came across this obituary: “Died, Salvador Sanchez, 23, World Boxing Council featherweight champion and one of the sport’s best fighters; of injuries after his Porsche 928 collided with two trucks, just north of Queretaro, Mexico. A school dropout at 16, Sanchez explained, ‘I found out that I liked hitting people, and I didn’t like school so I started boxing.’ A peppery tactician, he wore opponents down for late-round knockouts. His record: 43-1-1. ‘I’d like to step down undefeated,’ he said last month. ‘I’m only 23 and I have all the time in the world.’”
Like many young people, Sanchez considered himself practically immortal. Siegfried Sassoon once said, “At the age of 22, I believed myself to be inextinguishable.” Actually, so did I. And such an attitude is representative of many for whom old age seems miles away. But it’s dangerous to live that way. Whereas life is uncertain, death is sure. David was right when he said to Jonathan: “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, there is only a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3). I look back at a number of school friends who have died in the last few years, all of them virile and robust men in their twenties or thirties from highly affluent and privileged backgrounds – we are far from immortal – and so we need to be ready.
Lord, I choose to trust you with all the days in my life. Help me use my time well for you and live ready, for your glory. Amen!
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