If we believe that life is short and we will live forever, this truth should cause us to number our days and prioritize our eternal investments.
I’ve come across several passages of scripture that clearly teach that life is short.
Ps 39:4-5, “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is. (5) You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.”
What’s interesting is not only do these verses teach that life is short, but also that we need to be reminded that life is short. Isn’t it true that we take for granted that life is going to go on and on, when in reality, life is fleeting. In Job 14:1-2, Job compares our life to a flower and a shadow. He says, “How frail is humanity! How short is life, how full of trouble! 2 We blossom like a flower and then wither. Like a passing shadow, we quickly disappear.”
Every year, my wife and I look forward to planting flowers in our front yard and back of the house. The truth is, however, that no matter how much we care for the flowers and how beautiful they look throughout the summer, they will die in the fall. In the same way, the sun produces shadows throughout the day, but the sun will eventually go down taking the shadows with it. God says these are pictures of our lives and how fleeting they are.
What happens when we realize that life indeed is like a breath and that our days are numbered?
1. We will gain wisdom.
When we number our days, we will gain the wisdom to discern what the most important things in life are, and we will begin investing in those things. We will stop living completely saturated with things that won’t last forever. The Psalmist says in Ps. 90:12, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
2. We will use our resources wisely.
We’ve all been blessed with resources such as time, skills, and money. When we number our days, we will begin using those resources on things that matter or that have an eternal purpose. Jesus taught this concept in Matthew 6:19-20, when He said, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.”
Paul very clearly instructed Timothy on how to teach people about the need to focus on the eternal. In I Timothy 6:18, Paul states, “Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.”
As Christ followers, we will live forever in God’s eternal kingdom, and in the meantime, we were designed to make an impact that will last forever by helping people in this life. Dallas Willard stated, “We are unceasing spiritual beings with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.” If life is short and we have an eternal destiny, we should number our days and prioritize our eternal investments.
Questions to ask:
- Have you seriously contemplated the brevity of life and your eternal existence?
- How will these truths impact how you live today?
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