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How Will You Answer the Question?
“What is your life?” asks James, the Lord’s brother. He then gives his own answer, as one inspired of God to do so: “It is even as a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away” (4:14).
Life is time. Time is life. Nobody knows just how much of it he has.
“What is my life?” That is the question. And it’s a question ever man must answer for himself, for that life belongs to each person and to that person alone.
Every person plots his own course, plans and predicts his own route to pursue.
Here are some scripture-based suggestions to help each one of to make good choices when we’re about to answer the question, “what is your life?”
Life is the little. It’s a little health so that, you can participate. It’s a little peace so you can sleep well. It’s a little happiness so you can enjoy what you do and enjoy those with whom you do it. It’s a little joy to offset the burdens you have to bear. It’s a little sorrow to keep you from being too happy with this life and keep you looking forward to a better one. Little stuff is better than big stuff most of the time. Read Ecclesiastes 9:7-12.
Life is the less. It’s not more money. You can only buy so much. It’s not more things. You can only play with one thing at a time. You can only watch one show at a time, listen to one song, read one page. Life-- it’s not more repute, not who and how many know you. So what if somebody does or does not know you? How much difference with that make in the finality of things? Popularity is fickle, fame is fleeting. Read Proverbs 10:16-17.
Life is the unimportant. Few people will make much of a dent in history. And there are only so many “big” events anyhow. It’s the little, everyday things that really make up life. A new baby. A new bride, a new neighbor, a new Christian. A birthday card you didn’t expect. An unexpected gift from that special someone that just said, “Happy Tuesday, I love you.” A new putter. A new dress. And what about a new grand baby? These things are not much reported on the news and may not be very important to anybody else, but these seemingly unimportant things are the stuff of which life is made– they’re life’s treasures. Read Psalm 92:1-5.
Live is for living. One day at a time. Life is worth living–but only if you live right. There’s really not much value to life when you have to spend all your time trying to top last week’s party, or shopping just to buy something bigger or more expensive than what you got the last time. Life is worth living, if you practice kindness, if you recommend the better and call for the good, if you take time to care. Life takes on meaning when you’re trying to help someone get better or get something fixed that’s been broken. Life is valuable when you run the risk of getting involved, when you don’t mind hurting a little yourself to keep someone else from hurting. Read Psalm 23.
Life is for getting better. Growth is a vital part of who and what we are–and not just the physical variety, but much more so–the spiritual variety. What a pleasure to find some new kernel of truth. And what an even greater joy when you apply that truth and voila–it works. And what a pleasure to teach some little one and watch as he makes applications of that teaching and becomes better. To know you helped someone get better, be wiser, be more spiritual–now that’s life. Read II Peter 3:17-18.
One thing is certain: it matters greatly how we answer the question. Just what is your life?
