What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself? What could you give to get back your soul? (Mark 8:36-37)
Life is a 24/7 deal. Work is always around the corner. Responsibilities are always at hand. Family, relationships and social aspects of life are always there, requiring our attention. There’s always school, there are always worries and there’s always something new happening. Couples get married, babies are born, loved ones die, people become sick and people get hurt. I’ve always sort of known this and accepted it, but as I grow in a relationship with God, I have begun to realize that a relationship with God is 24/7 as well. Temptation is always at hand, testing of faith is always around the corner, people are in need and becoming disciplined in seeking God is constant. There are no breaks.
So, life continues and we do what we need to do. We do right things and wrong things, we seek God, we turn away, we go to church, go to work, go to school and that’s just the way things go. We’re always going and we’re always doing life. So much so that life begins to lose its luster and we become numb to its mystery. As life becomes a compilation of schedules, it starts to feel like a class and becomes a marathon of racing from place to place.
I hate this. I get so caught up in these moments of doing man-made living that I forget about eternity. And then it hits me; I’m merely a mist that is here but for a moment. I realize that I am bought with a price and that I belong to God. So, my time here on this earth should be used to honor God, to serve Him. Just as I see loved-ones nearing the end of their life, I know I will be there soon as well.
Peter wrote that we are aliens and strangers in this world. Paul said that we should keep our eyes fixed on the prize, just like a runner. James warned us against this lifestyle of ignoring the context of eternity, saying, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’”
It’s almost as if James is saying, “Look, forget about tomorrow and your plans for success. Before you know it, you’re going to be facing the end of this life. So, seek God with your life, because God is the only part of life that matters.”
Yes, a lot about life is just wasting time, going here and there and following schedules. Yet, it’s frightening to think that at the end of my life, I devoted my whole life to my own pursuits. Life isn’t about money, comfort, school or pleasing people. Life is about Jesus. Soon, you and I, like a mist in the wind, will vanish. Why would you want to give your whole life to anything or anyone else besides Jesus?
Dig Deeper:
Prayer:
Dear Father, I want to live every moment of my life for You. Teach me how to walk in Your steps every day. Be with me as I make my journey through this life.
