Jump Start # 3831
James 4:14 “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”
I had one of those moments the other day. It wasn’t anything earth shattering, but certainly a “wow” moment for me. We were helping with a high school graduation party and it dawned on me that this year is the fiftieth year of my graduation—1975. Fifty years seems ancient, and I guess it is. It just snuck up on me. I’ve not kept in touch with anyone from those days and I don’t think there is even a reunion, but those milestones have a way of grabbing your attention. Fifty years!
Our verse today, from the pages of James, reminds us of two central principles. First, we don’t know what life will be like tomorrow. Back in 1975, as a high school graduate, I was seventeen years old, wearing bell bottom pants, freshly baptized and didn’t have any plans to preach. But, different turns, different opportunities, different risks, and I have preached my entire adult life. We start off with dreams and hopes and things often take us down different paths in life. The current stats indicate that 80% of college students switch their majors. Expectations and reality sometimes do not line up as we thought.
The other principle from this James passage is that life is short. It is described as a vapor or we might say, a fog. It’s not enduring like a tree. It’s not a carved monument that will last for generations. No. It’s here for a moment and then it’s over. And, one thing that vapor reminds you of is that you cannot go back and relive those days again. They are gone. They remain as memories, but most of them are simply gone.
For many, a look to the past is journey laced with regrets. They made some wrong choices. They were afraid to try something different, so they didn’t. And, now all these years later, they live with what might have been. But, one can’t do that to themselves. What if David missed Goliath? He didn’t. What if Judas had not kissed Jesus in betrayal? He did. Life is about the present and now. The what ifs of yesterday can make you feel like you missed the bus. And, those regrets can ruin your today.
Every life is about the people, places and opportunities that are presented to us. Our lives intersect with someone. It could be for a moment, or it could be life changing. We grow, share and work with what knowledge we have.
James says, ‘You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.” While that is true, there are some things about tomorrow that we do know.
First, God will be there. There’s never a place that God is not. He’s in today. He was in yesterday. He will be in tomorrow. And, although we do not know what tomorrow, brings, knowing that God will be there brings lots of comfort and hope for us. God will be there and He has all the power to shape and turn things according to His will. You are not alone facing tomorrow. You have the Lord.
Second, we will be there, in tomorrow. We may not be on this side of life, but we will be there. One way or another, we’ve got a tomorrow. Life doesn’t end. There is no final page to our story. As they hymn reminds us, we live “on and on.” Either here or there, we will be in tomorrow. Now, what we do today, can certainly shape what our tomorrow will look like. A life without God now, will mean a life without God tomorrow.
Third, another one of our hymns fits so well here. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Some dread tomorrow. Tough days at work. Intense surgeries. Facing the consequences of poor choices. Yet, knowing what our Savior went through and knowing that He lives, we can endure with faith and courage. Luke’s Gospel records, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”
The things we fear soon pass. The troubles eventually end. After years of fighting, wars cease. People move on. Things change. Things get better. Things get worse. But our eyes are on the eternal. Our hope is in the One who lives forever. We make plans as if we will be here tomorrow, and we live as if we will be on the other side tomorrow. Either way, there is much to do, much to look forward to, and much to be thankful for.
That seventeen year old me who graduated fifty years ago would be amazed to know that I am a grandfather of thirteen today. He would not believe that I write a daily blog that is read worldwide. I serve as a shepherd at an incredible church. The blessings have been too many to count. Every week I stand before hundreds and preach the amazing message of Jesus Christ. Not the direction that the seventeen year old fifty years ago had in mind. And, that’s the greatest lesson in all of this. Don’t limit God. You can do incredible things, even things beyond your imagination if you work hard, put your trust in the Lord and sail for the horizon. Even you can do great things for the kingdom!
Roger