Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. Psalm 39:4-5 I am convinced that as humans, we do not like to think about our own immortality. Have you noticed that we are not generally interested in speaking in terms of there not being a tomorrow. Instead, we speak as if things will continue on in the future as things have continued in the past. And yet, deep down inside of us, we do ultimately realize that anything can happen to us at any given moment. Many of you have seen and perhaps even experienced the sudden loss of life of various family members and friends. It may have been a sudden or some other unforeseen event. Their loss is real and the grief makes me think about how fragile life really is. In psalm 39, king David is contemplating the brevity of life. In verses 4-6 David realizes the insignificance of our lives in the greater scheme of this world. In verse 5 David laments that our days are a just few handbreadths. As a sculptor I can report that one handbreadth is the distance of the four fingers together on ones hand. Therefore, David is saying our days are very short. David further says that our lifetimes are nothing in the sight of the eternal God. We are but a shadow and a breath in this world. Even more interesting is the Hebrew word in verse 5 translated “breath” in most versions is the same word the Teacher in book of Ecclesiastes used when he said, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” To speak of life as a breath or a vapor is to understand the vanity in pursuing the things of this world. David is drawing the same conclusion that the Teacher in Ecclesiastes drew: life is meaningless and worthless without a relationship with God. Our friend James also tried to remind us of the frailty and brevity of life in his famous passage, Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money. Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that. As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil”. James 4:13-16. I am afraid that we just dont understand how fragile and precious life is with people we love. I often feel like the character Emily, in Thornton Wilder’s play, “Our Town.” I first saw it when I was a student in High School at Tascosa, in Amarillo. I understand why Wilder won the Pulitizer Prize for his writing. The virtual girl next door, Emily, dies in child birth and then emerges to join the dead at the grave yard. Compassionately, Mrs. Gibbs tells her that they must wait and forget the life that came before, but Emily refuses to do so. Despite all of the warnings of the deceased in the grave yard, Emily decides to return to Earth to re-live just one day, her 12th birthday. She is happy at first, but then finally finds it too painful, and realizes just how much life should be valued with those we love while we are here, every, every minute. The Stage Manager, (who narrates the play), asks whether anyone realizes life while they live it. Folks, I heard that question when I was just 15 years old, and it has stuck with me all of these years. Though my trust in God as my provider, I finally understand it better now. Love those that God has given you in this life while you have them. I appreciate your comments and your interaction. Please “Share” these thoughts with others if you find them helpful.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 12:39:43 +0000
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