Yesterday was one of those small milestones in life, one that many people do not even remember. Ten years ago last night Kristy and I settled into the Cine Theater in Martin, TN for the early showing of “The Santa Clause 2” – it was our first date. It is hard for me to believe that ten years have now passed since that night and it is even harder for me to believe what has occurred in the meantime, the places we’ve lived, where we have been, what we’ve experienced, all the opportunities we have had to serve in various capacities. I mean we have had a child for crying out loud! I’m a father and we own a mini-van! Where has the time gone?
But as quickly as the last ten years have passed I know that it is nothing compared to how quickly the rest of my life will go. In the blink of an eye I will be an old man near death looking back at the sum total of my life, and one thing I hope that I am able to see as a defining characteristic of my life is urgency.
Solomon wrote to “boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1). His words seem to be a prelude to James’ similar statement – “Go to now, ye that say, Today or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be one the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:13-17).
When we are young we just can’t be convinced of these facts. We believe life is going to last forever and we can’t wait for tomorrow to come. However, the abundant fact emphasized by both Solomon and James is that life is urgent and unpredictable. Whatever needs to be done needs to be done in the moment, without delay for an otherwise unpromised future. Where life has gone is a question at this point of little consequence, but where it is going is solely in our hands.
-Andy Brewer