Priority in Life

“I loathe my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone, For my days are but a breath” Job 7:16

“Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah” Psalms 39:5 (read all)

“Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” James 4:13-14

We have been given a gift called the “present,” this is all we can consider guaranteed considering the future length of our life.  God does not promise tomorrow.  We sometimes sing the song “Jesus is Coming Soon,” yet it is hard for us to really grasp that he could come back tomorrow or even two minutes, or seconds from now.  The time is scheduled and Jesus is ready; we must treat each day as though it could be the last.  Only God knows when Jesus is returning.

The Bible often teaches us to live with urgency.  When Jesus left this world, the angel said, “why are you standing around, he is coming back!” (Acts 1:11, paraphrased)   Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 8 about the urgency of the churches in Macedonia, giving beyond their ability.  These believers acted with urgency because they knew the deep need to reach others.  This is the aim of teaching urgency, that believers would practice sacrificial living for the gospel. 

Our natural desires will always fight against our pursuit sacrificial living.  We desire comfort and security, often at unhealthy costs (think gluttony and hoarding.)  Our yearnings cause us to seek the best for ourselves, attempting to gain everything we need/want by ourselves.  We have a misconception that we can be self-sufficient to meet our own needs, but we need God, and his grace is sufficient for us.

An urgent life-Christian will choose sacrifice in this world, for the benefit of the next.  This could mean foregone financial gain for increase in the kingdom.  Time will be found to study, witness, and pray rather than indulgence in recreation, because the end could be tomorrow.  A goal for this type of living would be taking each choice we have and asking, “Which choice in this situation will bring glory to God, or benefit to His kingdom?”

Though we may have wasted many days in our life to this point, we still have opportunity to work for Christ, because we still have breath in our bodies.  Each day must be a new pursuit to seek the glory of God.