The Brevity of Life
Introduction: In case you don't know brevity means shortness or briefness. Memorial Day weekend is a time to reflect on those who have passed away, mainly from military service. But the holiday has been broadened recently to remember loved ones who have also passed away. This morning we take a look at how short life really is.
Harry Houdini was known as the ultimate escape artist. He was known for defying death again and again. The Daily Mirror challenged him to escape a pair of handcuffs that took the craftsman 5 years to make them. He took the challenge and after an hour he escaped. He would be placed upside down with his feet shackled in a water tank, He would hang from tall cranes in a straightjacket, his legendary act of being buried alive almost cost him his life in 1912 and had to call for help in a panic his hand broke the surface and later he said "the weight of the earth is crushing."
On the afternoon of October 22, 1926, two University students visited Houdini's dressing room. Houdini was looking through his mail, when one of the students, J. Gordon Whitehead, asked Harry if he could indeed withstand any blow to the abdomen. Harry responded that he could, if given time to brace himself, at which point Whitehead hit Houdini four times in the abdomen, assuming that Houdini had indeed braced himself for the blows. Throughout the evening, Houdini performed in great pain. He was unable to sleep and remained in constant pain for the next two days, though he did not seek medical help. When he finally saw a doctor, Harry was found to have a fever of 102 degrees and acute appendicitis. He was advised to go to the hospital for immediate surgery. However, Harry decided to complete his show as planned that night.
By the time Harry arrived on stage, his fever had risen to 104 degrees. He was tired and in pain and his assistants often had to step in and offer help. Audience members reported that Harry missed his cues and seemed in a hurry. By the middle of the third act, Houdini asked his assistant to lower the curtain as he could not go on. When the curtain closed, Harry Houdini collapsed where he was standing and had to be carried back to his dressing room. He continued to refuse medical care until the next morning when his wife, Bess insisted he go to the hospital. Harry relented and had his appendix removed, however it had already ruptured and doctors did not have much hope for his survival. On October 31, 1926 the man who had escaped death so many times before, lying near his wife and brother, Harry Houdini died. It seems that even the great Houdini could not escape death. Death is inescapable.
James offers some godly perspective on the way they were conducting their affairs as he addresses a group scattered Christians. It was a general letter reproving Christians for their degenerating faith and manners.
Transition: Our message comes out of James 4:13-15. This book has been called the book on how to be a Christian. and in James 4:13 James rebukes a presumption that some Christians had about life.
* James rebukes a Presumption about Life
"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." James 4:13
This is the attitude of the people in Noah's day and in Lot's day. We read in Luke that before the flood and before Sodom was destroyed, the people were eating and drinking and marrying, and building and planting. Not that there is anything wrong with these things in and of themselves, but the point is that they carried along with life without any thought of God. James rebukes their presumption. Just as in the days when the ark was being built and Noah was preaching, and God's anger was rising toward Sodom and Gomorra and Abraham was praying, the people were entirely given up to their pursuits, their pleasures, and their sins. If God is a part of a man's life, He is set aside for Sundays and Wednesdays only, while the man pursues his own dreams of prosperity without him.
Their sin is a sin of sensuality. Today man is obsessed with doing what FEELS good rather than taking any pains to do what IS good. God's own children forsake him to do what they desire. They conform his word to their desire, rather than allowing God to conform them to his desire.
James exposes a presumption that everything is at their own disposal. Our happiness mostly lies in the hope we have in the promises we make to ourselves. Some aspiring young person says to themselves "I will graduate with honors, then obtain a degree from this prestigious university and then start a practice here or there and prosper." or a young lady promises herself "I will marry the man I love and we will build a house in this town or that city and have lots of children and grandchildren." others are like the character George Baily in "It's a wonderful life." who says:
"I know what I’m gonna do tomorrow, and the next day, and the next year, and the year after that. I’m shakin’ the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and I’m gonna see the world. Italy, Greece, the Parthenon, the Coliseum. Then, I’m comin’ back here and go to college and see what they know… And then I’m gonna build things. I’m gonna build airfields, I’m gonna build skyscrapers a hundred stories high, I’m gonna build bridges a mile long…"
This is the mindset of the presumptuous man that apostle James is rebuking. Notice how apt worldly people are to leave God out of their plans? They don't pray "Shall we" or "Should we" or even consider God's will about anything they do, if it is right or wrong, whether it is spiritual helpful or harmful, or whether is in God's plan or not. They say Tomorrow I'm going to do this or that, and then I'm going to spend a few years here or there and make money doing one thing or another, forgetting that Jesus is our "Daily Bread" Matthew 6:34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Rely on Christ today and if tomorrow comes rely on him then and the next and so on. But these presumptuous Christians, rather than fulfilling the desire of God, they were more interested in fulfilling their own desires to make money, even though, through the perspective of eternity money is meaningless. Edmund Burke once said "What shadows we are and what shadows we pursue!"
If there is nothing after this life then what difference does it make if you struggled or if prospered? if you were rich or if you were poor? you could never remember it anyway. But if there is something after this life, then would it not benefit you to live for that life instead of spending so much of your time and energy living for this one?
Transition: That brings us to the apostles next point about life in the following verse. First he rebukes a presumption about life and then follows it by offering a precaution about life.
* James offers a Precaution about Life
"Why you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." -James 4:14
I went to a funeral this past Tuesday and it reminded me of the fragility of life and as I saw my uncle and old family friend Kenneth Doke, more gray and with a few more wrinkles still working for God and doing his heavenly duties on earth, preaching hope to a grieving crowd, I saw him I couldn't help but remember back to when this same man of God, married me and Kandy- when we were almost teenagers ourselves. I thought how long ago that seemed to be and yet reunited again for a funeral, and that is when it caused me to reflect on this brief and fragile thing we call life.
The precaution the apostle is trying to get across to these self-seeking Christians is "Look, you guys who are making all of these plans as if you are going to live forever, you are not even considering how short life is." Proverbs 27:1 "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring." It may bring prosperity, or it may bring disaster, it may bring trial, and it may bring blessing, it may bring a new life or it may bring a tragic death. Either way your life is so short that all that will matter when it is over, is what you have done for God. To whose purpose did you apply your money, your time, your resources, and your gifts and talents.
As I was watching the video montage of Michael at his funeral, I saw a picture of our family, I saw myself around the age of 15, and as I looked at that picture, something struck me- Even if we wanted to, we couldn't take the same picture today. Why? Because there were more than a few who were in that picture then who are no longer with us today. The older you get the more family, friends, and acquaintances you begin to lose to the other side of life.
James says you are a mist or a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes. When you contemplate it, isn't it amazing how soon this earthly life is over with. James is making the point that you are running out of time and you are wasting what time you do have on yourself.
When I was 12, I couldn't wait to be thirteen so I could be called a "teenager" then I couldn't wait to turn 16 so I could get my driver's license, then I couldn't wait to graduate high school to get out on my own. I couldn't wait to get married, I couldn't wait to get our first house. and the list goes on and on about how all of those things have now come and gone and now that I am well into my 40's and I see my nieces and nephews that seemed to just have been born now going to school and my friends children starting their own families. Life is just moving so fast. I can't help but wonder where my children are going to be in 5 years. One moment they are in your arms, the next they are leaving for college, and then they are getting married and time keeps moving on.
Where will you be in 5,10, 20 or even 30 years from now? The majority of us are going to be in eternity, some of us will be there in 20 years, some will be there in 10, there may be a few that will be in the presence of the Lord before this year is over with. The point is we don't have as much time as we believe we do, to do the things we hope to do, and the things we hope to do are usually the things we shouldn't be doing anyway. Where is God in your five year plan? Is he in your short term plan? Is he in your long term plan? Because God created you for a purpose and it wasn't to waste away your life for nothing more than to pursue your pleasures. He never intended for any of us to stay here long so we should embrace whatever duty God has called us to and do it with all the strength and energy we have, while we still have the strength and energy to do it.
I read a story about a 59 year old married mother from Virginia, who had survived a bout with cancer and also survived a motorcycle crash - and after recovering from a brutal bicycle accident she got up the next morning to get her coffee and paper, when she was fatally struck by a car.
In 1923 a man died at age 56 from a mosquito bite on his face, which he later cut while shaving and the wound subsequently became seriously infected with erysipelas, leading to blood poisoning and eventually pneumonia which caused his death.
There was precious Christian lady discovered a small dime size black spot on her forearm. Not giving it much thought, she wore a long sleeve blouse to cover the bright red spot. In a few short days she was dead of Melanoma cancer.
but perhaps what is the most ironic story is Voltaire, the great atheist was almost strangled to death by a gnat as he stood in his backyard and said: "If there be a God . . .let him strike me dead." Imagine that an Atheist who thought he was dying crying out to God.
There are thousands of ways we can slip into eternity on whim: An automobile accident, a gun accident, a plane crash, a falling object, a burning house, a deadly virus, a stroke, food poisoning, heart attack, insect bite, and allergic reaction, choking, lightning strike or something unexpected and then life is over. Our life is a vapor or a mist. it is something that is visible for a moment but nothing solid or certain. I got up Friday morning and looked out the window to see fog, after a while without any thought about it, I looked out another window and the mist was gone. That is the way life is- fragile.
Transition: James first explains the error of living only for the temporary and in the next verse he gives an alternative perspective on how Christian should approach their plans. First he rebukes a presumption and then offers a precaution and in the next verse James instills a preparation
* James instills a Preparation about Life
"Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." v.15
James now is teaching these Christians that they should seek God's will for their life and follow what He wants rather than doing whatever they felt like doing to suit their pleasures. He instills in them a way to prepare for all of life. If we say 'I'm going to do this' or 'I'm going to do that' we should at least in our minds, if not from our mouths follow that with "If it's the Lord's will."
In all your actions there should be at the very least a general understanding that you recognize that God is over all, and that you are under his control. Everything is under God's regulation. He knows all. He sees all. He hears all. Even the small things that we think are of little consequence may be huge to God. He knows how many hairs are upon your head. He knows which way the wind will turn and where each leaf will fall. He steers the streams and rivers as well as he does the stars in the sky.
It's more wise to follow God's course than to follow our own. His plan is perfect because he is perfect, since we are not perfect it is best to follow the one who is. Jesus himself taught his disciples how to pray and he gave an example of a model prayer and in that prayer, he prays "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." things on earth are temporary, but things in heaven are eternal. This is why Jesus said to lay up treasures in heaven where it will last forever rather than scheming for treasures on earth that are only temporary.
Psalms 144:4 says "Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow."
The dash between the dates on your tombstone represents accurately your life. short, small, and hardly noticeable. Even famous people are eventually forgotten. Spurgeon said "six feet of dirt makes all men equal" The worm that crawls through the rotting flesh of the dead doesn't know if he is feasting on a prince or a beggar.
This life is reduced to a dash between two dates: The date you were born and the date you pass away. The two worlds that exist, are a spiritual one and a physical one, and that spiritual world will be shortly realized when our time is up. There is such a fine line that separates us from this one and that one. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Are you living for the temporary life or the eternal one? The purpose of life is not who will remember us when we are gone, but whether or not our names are written down in the Lamb's book of life! Life isn't about who knows us on earth but whether Jesus knows us in heaven, to those workers of iniquity he will say " I never knew you, away from me you evil doers" Obedience to his word is what differentiates the child of God from the evildoers.
When we die we leave things as we were doing them. The farmer leaves his field half plowed, The blacksmith still leaves his hammer on the anvil, the artist leaves an unfinished painting, a sculptor leaves behind a half finished sculpture. Jesus said two men will be in the field one will be taken and the other left, two women will be grinding at the mill, one will be taken and the other left. It is better to be prepared for the afterlife than to be well prepared for this one.
Conclusion: We shouldn't be afraid of death but instead we should embrace life. Matthew Henry said "He whose head is in Heaven need not fear put his foot in the grave." Look at it as a great privilege and a great opportunity because shortly it will be over. Use it to make as much godly impact on a sinful world as you possibly can, while you have the short time to do it. Let's take up our helmet of salvation and our sword of the Spirit and fight the good fight of faith! Let's use this gift of life, not abuse it.
Because it won't be long when we, ourselves will be in the coffin and others will be gathered around to memorialize our life while we will be on the other side of glory. Where the land of light and laughter and love brings an eternal life, a life that is not a vapor, but is forever. A land where the rainbows are more vibrant and never disappear, a land where the tears never flow, where the flowers never wilt, where our loved ones are more excited to embrace us, than we are them. A land that ignorance, hate, sin, and death are banished forever, a place where pain, sadness, nightmares, and loneliness can not exist. A land where the love and holiness of God is so incredible it draws the worship out of us and we have a desire to praise within us that we never knew we had before. That Beulah land, where peace that can not be understood on earth, will be fully realized and lived in forever. In a short time we will get to rest high on that mountain for our work will be done.
But wait, this sweet place wasn't designed for those who only care about going here and there and spending time making more money for themselves, no, this wonderful place if only for those who are related to the Lord Jesus Christ, they are married to His will and his purpose is their own.
Amen.
