“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” 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” (James 4:13–14).
“Scientific researchers recently estimated that: A lightning bolt lasts 45-55 microseconds. An average running shoe lasts 350-500 miles. A hard pencil can write up to 30,000 words. A ball point pen can draw a line 7,500 ft. long. A 100 watt incandescent bulb lasts 750 hours. A 25 watt bulb lasts 25,000 hours. A one dollar bill lasts 18 months in circulation.
“Yet, James says that our life is but a puff of smoke from a fire; steam that rises from a cup of coffee; or, one’s breath briefly visible on a cold morning. The days of our life, while precious, are also passing like a vapor. I recently read a most interesting article entitled, “If You Are 35, You Have 500 Days to Live.” The article went on to contend that when you subtract the time you spend sleeping, working, tending to personal matters, eating, traveling, doing chores, attending to personal hygiene, and you add in the miscellaneous time stealers, in the next 36 years you will have only 500 days to spend as you wish. It then poses the question, “When all of the necessary things are done, how much time will you have left?””*
Sobering thoughts, right? Time truly is fleeting for all of us. Who knows how much we have left? For the believer, this doesn’t have to be discouraging but perhaps it can be a reminder to use our time well. The start of a new year is a great time to pause and take stock of our lives. How am I using the precious gift of time that God has given me?
God loves you!
Mike
*Steve Wagers, pastorlife.com
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