“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 4:14
Shortly after the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, I watched a video showing him tossing hats to the crowd just before beginning his usual interaction with students. Unbeknownst to him, within minutes he would find himself in the presence of the Savior whom, according to those who knew him, he loved and served.
People often ask, “What would you do if you knew today was your last day on earth?” Ultimately, that is relatively unimportant. What matters is that we live each day mindful of our mortality and Christ’s imminent return.
Being aware of our mortality encourages us to live with farsightedness, cultivating an eternal perspective. Randy Alcorn writes, “Our present life on earth is the dot. It begins. It ends. It’s brief. However, from the dot, a line extends that goes on forever. That line is eternity, which Christians will spend in heaven. Right now we’re living in the dot. But what are we living for? The shortsighted person lives for the dot. The person with perspective lives for the line.”1
Life’s fleeting nature renders time infinitesimal compared to eternity, like a single drop in an endless ocean. Each wasted second is gone forever and cannot be reclaimed. Therefore, we are called to redeem the time, wisely buying up every opportunity to invest in eternity (Eph. 5:15-16; Col. 4:5). We do this by witnessing to and praying for those who are lost, teaching and encouraging fellow believers, worshiping and praising God, helping others, and serving Christ in other Spirit-led ways. Adopting a heavenly perspective means that no time is wasted. Even if we find ourselves stuck in traffic, we can use the time to pray, listen to edifying Bible messages, or make a hands-free call to encourage someone. That long line at the store may be God’s providence, providing an unexpected opportunity to share the gospel with the person behind you.
Our brief time on earth may not end with death, but with instant glorification when the Lord returns to the air for His Church. In light of Christ’s imminent return, we must live expectantly, always looking for His appearing. Every believer should be “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
Philippians 3:20-21 says, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” 1 John 3:2-3 adds: “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Christ could return today. Given our position as children of God and our future glorification, the only reasonable response is to purify ourselves, allowing Christ to increasingly conform us to His image (Rom. 12:1-2).
What a difference it will make in our lives if we expectantly wait for His appearing and reckon with our own mortality. This means that we will consider every moment a gift, an opportunity to serve Christ. Our hearts will grow increasingly eager to please Him, moving us to pursue godliness and longing to be found faithful when He appears or our spirit departs to be with Him. Let us then walk with the confidence of Elijah (page 2), live with the mindset of a pilgrim (page 4), obediently serve Christ in our own Macedonian Call (page 6), and stand strong in a hostile world (page 8). Time is short!
ENDNOTES
1. https://www.epm.org/resources/2014/Dec/17/live-line/