Brevity of Life
We always hear that life is short. From our experiences, it
seems to be true. Scripture even backs it (James 4:14.) The world would have us
to live out our time in whatever way we like – money, drugs, vanity, etc. But
as Christians we are called to a much higher purpose than this. The issue is
that these attempts (or any others) to fill our soul only leave us aching with
emptiness and longing for something more. We feel unsatisfied despite our
attempts to “just relax.” For me, I become spiritually restless and irritable
when I look anywhere except Jesus to fulfill my needs. Maybe because deep down,
I know that the temporary, carnal things won’t last (Prov. 31:30.) They aren’t
ultimately satisfying. I’m sure I sound like a broken record, echoing the
sentiment of any number of youth devotionals directed at teens or young adults,
but I hope that maybe I can shed light on the subject in a new way.
Let me give you a practical example. I went through a very
brief period in middle school or high school where I wanted to look good every
single day to impress people. Right off the bat, this is a disaster waiting to
happen. Taking care of yourself and wanting to look nice is harmless. But when
you have a motive to impress others, inspire jealousy, or in vanity, real
issues can occur. I tried to get up early for school every morning, fix my
hair, put on makeup, and put a lot of effort into my outfit. I realize this is
life for many girls, and that’s fine. But for me, I wanted to look beautiful so
people would notice me. I wasn’t doing it to boost my confidence or because it
was something I wanted. I was placing a lot of my value in my appearance and
what other people thought about me. Being “fake” about who I was or my motives
was very exhausting. It felt like a constant charade. It was a sacrifice to
give up sleep, and a lot of effort to put in. After only a few weeks, I decided
that I didn’t care enough about it and went back to my standard – little to no
makeup, a messy bun, and whatever wasn’t wrinkled. I found that the more I
focused on my appearance, the more I stressed about it, and the more
self-conscious I became. It became all-consuming. Contrarily, when I focused on
my relationship with God, I felt more at peace and accepting of my natural
appearance. I didn’t worry about it and yet I felt more beautiful and whole
than I had before.
My efforts and attention were focused on my appearance. I
wasn’t focused on what my testimony at school looked like as much. I think now,
since life has seemed to slow down for many of us, is a great time to reflect
on how we’ve been living our lives. And soon, when we all head back to work, we
can implement a new lifestyle with our “normal” habits we have ditched since
this “new normal” started. Instead of pursuing temporary things, why don’t we
use our short lives to pursue the things that will matter in eternity? Only the
things done for the Lord will last (1 Cor 3:12-14). We are called to redeem the
time (Eph 5:16) while we are here, so why wait?
Questions
Are you more focused on the eternal or the temporary?
How can you prioritize kingdom work in your life this week?
What is one practical way you would like to like to make the
most of your time for the Lord this week?
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