The Bible says that Life is Short and Uncertain
Apr 15, 2008
Procrastination is something that anyone who has ever had homework is probably familiar with. It can be tough to take care of responsibilities when you would rather be doing something that’s fun, or at least isn’t work. You can get away with procrastinating on homework in school because you know when the due date is. If the assignment is due Friday afternoon, you could wait until Friday morning to do it as long as you get it done. Procrastination isn’t such a terrible thing when you know the due date. It’s a different story when you don’t know the due date. If I had a gaping hole in my roof, I would want it fixed today because, despite the weather man’s best intentions, I never know for sure when it’s going to rain. When it comes to our lives, we don’t know the due date so we had better make things right now.
The Bible makes clear the fact that our lives are short. Psalm 39:5 says, “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.” The writer of Psalm 90 described life this way: “it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). Because of the shortness of life, he asked God to “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). With how short our lives are, it is important that we use our time wisely because “there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where [we] are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). When we are dead, it is too late to set right the things in our lives.
In addition to being short, our lives are uncertain. We cannot predict when our time will come. The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes speaks on this subject when it says, “But time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time…” (Ecclesiastes 9:11+12). It would be a mistake to count on having tomorrow to set things right because we never really know what will happen tomorrow (James 4:13-15). Jesus spoke a parable about a man who did not see his end coming (Luke 12:16-20). The man’s focus had been on accumulating wealth and when his end came unexpectedly, he was not ready for it.
Due to the short and uncertain nature of our lives, it is important to be right with God now. There are quite a few Biblical examples that show the value of not delaying to do what is right. When the city of Nineveh was told that punishment was coming, their repentance was whole-hearted and seemingly immediate (Jonah 3:5-9). Also, when Jesus called the men who would become apostles, they didn’t waste any time (Mark 1:16-20). They were doing their job, which was fishing, when he came to them. Mark 1:18 says “they immediately left their nets and followed Him.” There are multiple examples of men who found out they needed to be baptized and did so immediately. Those examples include an Ethiopian (Acts 8:30-38), a man named Cornelius (Acts 10:24-48), a Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:27-33), and the Apostle Paul (Acts 22:12-16).
Procrastination is little more than a bad habit when it comes to trivial things where we know when the due date is. However, our souls are not trivial things and we cannot expect to ever know the due date of our lives. If you have been planning to put God into your life and start doing what the Bible says, then why not act now?
The Bible makes clear the fact that our lives are short. Psalm 39:5 says, “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.” The writer of Psalm 90 described life this way: “it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10). Because of the shortness of life, he asked God to “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). With how short our lives are, it is important that we use our time wisely because “there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where [we] are going” (Ecclesiastes 9:10). When we are dead, it is too late to set right the things in our lives.
In addition to being short, our lives are uncertain. We cannot predict when our time will come. The Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes speaks on this subject when it says, “But time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time…” (Ecclesiastes 9:11+12). It would be a mistake to count on having tomorrow to set things right because we never really know what will happen tomorrow (James 4:13-15). Jesus spoke a parable about a man who did not see his end coming (Luke 12:16-20). The man’s focus had been on accumulating wealth and when his end came unexpectedly, he was not ready for it.
Due to the short and uncertain nature of our lives, it is important to be right with God now. There are quite a few Biblical examples that show the value of not delaying to do what is right. When the city of Nineveh was told that punishment was coming, their repentance was whole-hearted and seemingly immediate (Jonah 3:5-9). Also, when Jesus called the men who would become apostles, they didn’t waste any time (Mark 1:16-20). They were doing their job, which was fishing, when he came to them. Mark 1:18 says “they immediately left their nets and followed Him.” There are multiple examples of men who found out they needed to be baptized and did so immediately. Those examples include an Ethiopian (Acts 8:30-38), a man named Cornelius (Acts 10:24-48), a Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:27-33), and the Apostle Paul (Acts 22:12-16).
Procrastination is little more than a bad habit when it comes to trivial things where we know when the due date is. However, our souls are not trivial things and we cannot expect to ever know the due date of our lives. If you have been planning to put God into your life and start doing what the Bible says, then why not act now?