“For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)
This past Thursday morning the fog was so thick the news reporters were telling everyone to use extreme caution on the roads. One description of the fog was, “No Visibility.” By the middle of the morning, however, the sun was shining brightly and all the fog was gone. Jet airplanes often leave vapor trails as they fly across the sky. These vapor trails only last a few minutes and then they are gone. James reminds us that life is like a vapor.
In 1963 a ninety year old gentleman and I were having a conversation about his long life. I listened as he talked about the swiftness of life. He described the dirt floor log cabin in which he was born and where he lived as a child. Then a tear trickled down his cheek as he said, “I don’t know where life’s all gone. It just seems like yesterday.” Compared to eternity, life is like fading, fleeting vapor, here just a little while and then it’s gone.
The Psalmist said, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) I saw a poster somewhere that said, “Only one life; ‘twill soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
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