Most of us, save for the most morbid, don’t sit around thinking of how short life truly is. I submit that there is value in contemplating this very thing. If we maintain our health and are genetically blessed, we have at most 90-100 years on this spinning ball of dirt. In the United States, the average lifespan for a man is 75.6 years, and a woman is 80.8. For all of the advances in Western medicine, that still leaves Americans curiously low at number 36 on the list of lifespan by Country (Wikipedia). In the grand scheme of things, 75-80 years is not a lot of time. Take away from this the fact that our first handful of years is not especially productive, and we wind up with less than 70 years to make a difference in our world.
Seventy New Year’s Eve celebrations, seventy birthdays, seventy Christmases and it will all be over. Time is fleeting, and the older we get, the more quickly it seems to pass. Before I go any further in sending you down a path of depression, consider how much good you could do if only you focused your efforts during the time you have been allotted to live. In Ephesians 5, verses 15 and 16, we are told to be careful how we live, to make the most of the time we have. What if you knew you only had a few years to live, would you live differently that you are living today? I have some news for you; you only have a few years to live! Regardless of your current age or health, the time we have remaining in the story of life is but a few moments. None are guaranteed another year; none of us have a lock on even seeing another sunrise.
How will you spend your remaining time on this planet? Make no mistake; we all will have to account for how we chose to spend our days when our life is over. Scripture makes it clear that we will all answer for the things we have done during our lifetime (Matthew 12:36; Hebrews 9:27; Matthew 25:31-46). Every day we spend living for ourselves, acquiring wealth, obtaining pleasure, attaining status – these are wasted hours from an ever diminishing pool of time. Each of us were uniquely crafted to do the work God created us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Why then are we wasting our lives pursuing those things that have no eternal value while neglecting the very things that will actually mean something when we stand before our Lord?
Life is short but we are living as if there is no end to it. We make grand plans and yet tomorrow may never come (James 4:13-14). Every moment we put off doing the work of Christ is a moment we can never regain. The sands of our lives are slipping through our fingers and all the while we are unaware. Arrogantly we assume that time is ours to spend, but at what cost? While we eat, drink, and revel in our little luxuries, people are dying both physically and spiritually because we cannot be bothered to help. We will stand before a Holy God, and we will be judged according to what we have done. There is no more time to waste in living for ourselves. Time is running out and we still have so much to do. Life is short; how will you spend yours?;