The Brevity of Life

“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.  He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not” (Job 14:1-2).  “A time to be born, and a time to die…” (Ecclesiastes 3:2a)”

These two verses, when read by those who fear death, seem rather morbid.  But it is a fact of life that no one will live upon this earth in its present state for more than a set number of years.  Some people live to be 100 or more years old which seems like a long time, but compared to eternity, it is only a tiny blip on the radar of God’s timetable.  My neighbor celebrated her 100th birthday this past summer.  I have two aunts who both turned 90 also this past summer.  Another neighbor made it to almost 99 before he passed away.  All of them said that they never thought that they would live as long as they have.

I saw a headline on the internet a few years ago that said that scientists were working on how to make it possible for people to live to 150.  My first thought was “Why?”  Most everyone that I know who has lived up into their 80’s and 90’s have many health issues, cannot do most of the stuff they did all their lives, and need help from getting their groceries to basic daily personal needs.  Many had spouses who preceded them in death, and thus they suffer from loneliness and depression.  Why would anyone want 50, 60, or more years of that?  Most people say that they do not want to be a burden to anyone as they age, but because of medical advancements and medications that we have today, folks, generally speaking, are living longer, but not necessarily without pain, hardship, boredom, and loneliness.

It is the experience of many folks that, like Solomon wrote, their days are full of trouble.  A person may have more good days than bad, but the difficult ones are the ones that affect us the most.  David Roper, in his book “The Song of a Passionate Heart-Psalm23”, wrote, “I used to think that life was mostly green pasture with an occasional dark valley along the way, but now I realize it’s the other way around.  There are days of surprising joy, but much of life is a vale of tears.”  A vale of tears–I know what he means.  Folks wonder why life has to be so difficult, but it is mostly because we live in a sin-cursed world.  We make our plans for life but our plans seldom turn out the way we want.  I have met folks in my life who thought that everything was supposed to be all lollypops and puppy dogs, but after a few short years of life on earth, they find that everything doesn’t always go as they would like.  Some have a hard time accepting that fact.  Some become perpetually angry, some depressed, but some can accept what they can’t change, as the Serenity Prayer tells us, and move on with their lives.  It takes a high emotional IQ and a constant prayer life to manage the ups and downs of living on planet earth.

There comes a time, though, when all of life’s troubles are behind us, forgotten and never to be dredged up again, and that time comes to those whose faith is in Christ, and who have the understanding that this life is not all there is.  The Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:19 that, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable”.  Paul wrote this to the members of the church in Corinth, Greece, because some of them did not believe in a bodily resurrection, the main event on which eternal life is promised to all who who believe in and receive Christ as Lord and Savior.  If we didn’t have the hope of heaven, the place where joy and peace reigns and sin is gone, we would be miserable.  Paul is emphasizing that even when we know Christ in this life there is still much heartache and suffering because of this sin-cursed world, a world of misery and hardship.  “If there was no resurrection/The power to forgive not His/How miserable to believe/That this is all there is”.   I am forever grateful to the Lord that it doesn’t have to end this way.

While we spend whatever time on earth that God allows us, let us always be mindful to live each day, one at a time, with a desire to make lives better for others, and to keep our focus on what really matters, looking for the day when we meet Christ face to face, leaving behind the vale of tears and entering our brand new home of joy and peace.