"Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air]." James 4:14 amp
"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." esv
Christ's heart really beats for people in cities as it does for people in rural towns! Lots of broken hurting people.
Yes, the Trinity (God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) loves those in metropolitan and more hinterland areas! You and me.
I did some exploring when I was in Milano, in Italy's northern Lombardy region. Some say it's an extra dusty dirty place, but it's probably not more so than other big cities. The city is actually known for all its valuable art and creative people.
There is a huge ornate cathedral that has some poignant significant words inscribed around its entrance.
To the right of the door is a nice sculptured wreath of roses. Beautiful!
Underneath it says, "All that pleases us is only for a moment." On the left side is a sculptured cross of thorns with the moving words beneath posted: "All that troubles us is only for a moment." Over the top of those words comes: "Nothing is important but that which is eternal."
Solomon tried it all and learned real late that seeking meaning through abundance was only chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:11).
"I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind." Ecclesiastes 1:14
The word "vanity" that Solomon used back in his day didn’t mean the same thing it means to us today. When we think of vanity, we think of a magazine or people who’ve never met a mirror they didn’t like. But the vanity Solomon spoke of could just as easily be translated as “emptiness,” “futility,” “meaningless,” or “nothingness.” Solomon was saying, “There is nothing on this earth that will completely satisfy us: no temporal thing, no mere human relationship totally, and no pleasure.
Question. Have you ever wondered why the super wealthy or super famous often have substance abuse issues or other problems? I think it’s because they get to do what others only dream of. They accomplish a certain thing, and then they move on to the next thing. They experience another success, and then they move on to something else. They can’t keep that high they were on, so they turn to the next thing.
What fills that inner void? Solomon tried it all, and he realized that it all was meaningless. If you take God out of the picture, your life will indeed be empty, meaningless, and futile.” God the Father is love and His Son Jesus is our only Savior. Repent and invite Him in.
Remember in Ecclesiastes, how Solomon lists the various vain pursuits that are equivalent to chasing after the wind:
• All things done “under the sun,” that is, in a human life lived apart from any consideration of God (1:14)
• Pursuing wisdom and the understanding of madness and folly (1:16–17)
• Rewarding oneself with pleasure (2:10–11)
• Seeking immortality (2:16–17)
• Thinking one can control the outcome of his life (2:26)
• Envious competition with one’s neighbor (4:4)
• Trying to make a lasting name for oneself (4:16)
Solomon concluded that, apart from seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (see Matthew 6:33), life here has no meaning.
Wealth, or the lack of it, the crowds, the solitude, the pleasures, the pains.. and all the things we pour our lives into on earth simply won’t last. Our projects, our hard work, our rivalries, our alliances, and our successes—nothing will last. We can’t really hang on to the rewards of this world any more than we can grasp the wind.
A Christian has the opportunity to understand the emptiness and despair that those who do not know God daily grapple with. There must be some empathy, some outreach. The world “under the sun,” meaning apart from God, is frustrating, cruel, unfair, brief, and “utterly meaningless.” But with Christ (enjoying relationship), life here is but a shadow of the glories to come in a heaven that is only accessible through Him.
Our earthly pleasures in the country, in the cities, and in medium-sized towns are all so brief.
Sure, that expensive vacation is over way too soon.
That fashionable suit is so last season.. very quickly and then it wears out like other rusty, perishable, temporal things.
All the fun widgets, gadgets, and devices (that constantly need software updating) go in a trash bin.
The ice cream cone melts before, in or on you.. or sometimes it just drops on the city sidewalk.
Likewise, people may believe that their personal pain will never stop, that the haunting of loneliness is here to stay, that the intense pressures of their daily lives will have no end.
But someday both the earthly pleasures and the pain of this life will be over.
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| Photo by Mi Pham |
"How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone." nlt
You know what comes next.
"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.." Hebrews 9:27
Live each minute, each hour, each day as if it's your last because it just might be.
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| Photo by Susan Wilkenson |
Through our momentary, light affliction, we can choose to draw near to God and even thrive (on multiple levels) in the hardships, filled with the hope that our troubles grow our character and faith even more. We remember that this world is not our final home.
When we have blessings or trials, pleasures or pains, let us “fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
“What is your life?” What's up with James 4:14?
God has never been some sadist who enjoys causing pain and suffering in people. Never has been, never will be. He ain't anything like that.
"Christian hedonism" -- that sounds like an oxymoron! After all, if “hedonism” is the pursuit of pleasure, then how can it be Christian? But, as John Piper points out, pleasure per se is not anti-God. Pleasure, in one sense, is a gauge of how much importance we place on what we value. Piper coined the term Christian hedonism as a provocative way to express a timeless truth: God is not glorified in us as He ought to be when He is not our greatest joy. Or to put it positively, in the words of Piper, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
There are righteous pleasures to be enjoyed. Pleasure (not the unholy type) is a gift from God (James 1:17). When we trust God to supply all we need, we can enjoy His good gifts without guilt or reservation. Godly gratification provides a lasting joy that includes wisdom, maturity, and a clear conscience.
"Lord, You have been our dwelling place our refuge, our sanctuary, our stability in all generations. Before the mountains were born or before You had given birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are the eternal God. You turn man back to dust, and say, 'Return to the earth, O children of mortal men!' For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep forgotten as soon as they are gone; in the morning they are like grass which grows anew—in the morning it flourishes and springs up; in the evening it wilts and withers away." vv. 1-6A real place called Hell will be the place of anguish, remorse, pain, and misery. Heaven will be a place where God eventually “will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:4). The misery that causes the gnashing of teeth will be unknown in heaven, and there will be no weeping, no wailing, and no tears.
Sadly, those who reject God will realize in hell what they have truly lost, and the realization that there is no “second chance” will cause them to feel the full weight of the pain that goes with that knowledge. The anguish of being separated from God does not go away. It is eternal and unrelenting. We all deserve that kind of punishment: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23), but God, in His mercy, made it possible for us to avoid that eternal pain and suffering. Paul explains, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23).
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| Live ready, help others be. Need perspective? Hear Studd: |
"Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way; Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart; Only one life, twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done; Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgement seat; Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave; Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
When this bright world would tempt me sore, When Satan would a victory score; When self would seek to have its way, Then help me Lord with joy to say; Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Give me Father, a purpose deep, In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep; Faithful and true what e’er the strife,Pleasing Thee in my daily life; Only one life ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Oh let my love with fervor burn, And from the world now let me turn; Living for Thee, and Thee alone, Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne; Only one life, “twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say,”Thy will be done”; And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”; Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last. ” ..extra stanza..
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last. And when I am dying, how happy I’ll be, If the lamp of my life has been burned out for Thee." ~ Charles Thomas Studd (missionary to India, Africa, and China. The husband to Pricilla, and father to four daughters: Grace, Dorothy, Edith, Pauline..and two sons died in infancy)
