“...What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:14)
The contents of an earlier entry are posted in quotations below. As I read these words again, I thought about many we have lost since the time that I typed the words below in early July 2016. Just two short years and so many losses.
It is a wonderful thing to have grown up in a small community. I have worked in several large cities in my adult life and live in a relatively large one now. When conversations of “where are you from?” come up, I have always been rather proud to tell people where I am from. Sometimes, people would say things like, “I wouldn’t want to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business.” When people have said this, I’ve just smiled because there is no need in trying to explain the warmth you feel from knowing people and seeing how much they care when a community crisis occurs, such as the death of one of our own. People can’t understand who haven’t experienced it.
As I reflect on our small community, I am reminded that many have passed on even since I typed the entry that I referenced above. Several high school friends, some my age, some younger, some older, and several prominent community members have gone on. People of importance for everyone is important to someone. Years ago, no one would have ever thought about them not “being there.” Some have been lost to illness, some to tragedy, some to old age. Several have been lost in our little community in a very short span of time. No matter what the cause of the end of our life, life truly is short. This is a fact no matter how many years we are given. Even at my age, I am reminded that I have lived more years than I have left even in the best of circumstances. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. As Solomon stated in the book of Ecclesiastes, life is a brief shadow(here today gone tomorrow). Nothing we place value in that is a part of this realm will remain. The only thing important is our salvation (only in Christ Jesus) and the impact we leave on other people. Even that impact will fade with time as those people in turn impact others. As the man of God stated, “Days Born of a Woman are Few and Full of Trouble” (Job 14:1)
Times like these remind us that time spent with others is more important than time spent with things, preparation for the life to come becomes more important than our meager investments in the world of now, giving becomes more important than receiving—because giving has lasting value both in this world and the one to come, wisdom from heaven becomes much more important than the knowledge of the world, the profession of our faith is more important than the profession of our career.
(Post from July 6, 2016)
“I am sitting here writing this feeling somewhat numb. Just got the news a few minutes ago that a friend of mine from high school was killed in an automobile accident. He was a few years older (3) than myself and I really looked up to him in school. He was the quarterback of our local small town high school football team. I was also coming along as a young quarterback at that time and I looked up to him as a result. I remember having knee reconstruction surgery when I was 13 y/o and he and another team member, also a friend, made me a stool to prop my knee on while I watched the games (since I was only days removed from surgery). He was a nice guy. We grew up playing "pickup games" of football in each other's yards and also on the school football field. He graduated and moved on to bigger and better things, eventually becoming a helicopter pilot transporting those critically injured from hospital to hospital or from crash site to hospital to get the medical care they needed. I even read from another friend on facebook that he had recently went on a mission trip to another country with his wife. He had several children. He had several brothers and sisters, one of which was one of my best friends in high school. I remember his robust laugh and his sense of humor. Subsequently, I have read many accounts on facebook of his impact on many lives that his life touched through the years. His earthly life is over. In a hundred years, no one will remember that he was a quarterback, a helicopter pilot, of any of the things that the world places "significance" on. Rather, something else will remain.
I am sure that many of you reading this will have similar stories of friends who left "unexpectedly" or too early from your perspective. We get so busy going through our everyday lives that we often do not take the time to think about how fragile life really is. We can be here one instance and gone the next. It is at times like these that we are reminded not to put off telling those that we love and care about the things we need to tell them. It is also a time of reflection on what is really important in life. Not the homes we live in, the cars we drive, the gadgets we accumulate, but rather the relationships we foster and the hereafter that we prepare for. What's important in this life comes down to basically two things: 1)Our impact and influence on others. 2)Making preparation for what comes after.
Having an impact on others is the primary purpose of what we call our earthly life. It is not dependent on the things we possess, the jobs we work, or the knowledge that we accumlate. Rather, it is contingent on time spent investing in the lives of others. This includes family, acquaintances,and strangers. Little things in this regard often have lasting consequences. For instance, a kind word spoken to a stranger may be the difference in that person giving up and taking their life or being inspired to carry on and in turn influencing others for the good.
Another important thing is preparing for what comes after. This is always a faith endeavor. It requires that we believe in something that we cannot physically see. For Christians, this means putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the only way to God. Acceptance of the free gift of salvation with the realization that nothing we do merits God's favor but an acceptance of what Jesus did for each of us on the cross, asking God to forgive us of our sins, and turning to Him as the One true God. I know, it doesn't sound reasonable. How can it be that simple? Faith my friend. Believing what God says in the Bible as true.
A successful life, no matter how short or long we may think it is, comes down to these two simple truths: 1)investment in others 2)Faith in Jesus as the way of salvation.
I'm thankful that my friend seemed to realize this and he made these investments. After all, these are the only things that truly remain.
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