“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”- James 4:14
Leonard Ravenhill once said: “you will never meet a more challenging question than this: “what is your life?””. Not what is life, or what are you doing with your life, but what is your life?
Life is arguably the most precious thing on earth. We spend most of our time, money, and energy to protect it, preserve it, and conserve it. Yet with all our efforts we hold onto life as well as we hold onto water. Intently, yes. Carefully, certainly. Still, only temporarily. Despite our best efforts it will slowly seep through our fingertips until it’s gone. While existence is evidence of life, to the living man it is something deeper, is it not? There is more to life than sleeping, eating, and breathing. The willful animation of ourselves to move from one place to the next can hardly quantify this precious gift we call life. Herein the apostle proposes a searching question, what is your life? A question asked and answered, “it is even a vapour.” A puff of steam; brief. Fleeting. Frighteningly short. In our early years we have no idea how short life is. Our days are spent wishing we were older. Then our adolescent years come, and we are too ignorant to be mindful of the gift of life. As middle age sneaks up on us, we meet the harsh reality that we are headed to the grave, for our bodies begin to prove it so. Finally, in the winter of life the evidence is too overwhelming to ignore. As precious as this life is, the temptation is to hold on to it tighter and tighter. To make every moment count and live for ourselves because one day we will step off into the void of eternity. However, the finality of life should bring us closer to the security of Christ. Not living for us but focusing on Him. Our Savior. Considering that you will die, as will I. We must also consider where we will go when we die. When everything you see is no more. That day will come to us all unawares and we will leave behind every possession and every memory that is tied to it. Our bodies will lay in a grave, and our life summed up in an afternoon eulogy. Therefore, consider what is to come and consider that it is far more important than what is now. Are you prepared for eternity? For judgment? For the everlasting? What is your life?
The scripture says that “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ”. We will meet Jesus here, or there, but we will meet Him. We will meet Jesus as the intercessor, or judge, but we will meet Him. We will see Jesus as the arbitrator or the adjudicator, but we will see Jesus. He is Lord, and we will arrive at the judgment bar to await the final word: “Well done, thy good and faithful” or “depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” How you live here will determine where you live forever; so, what is your life?
