"What is your life? For you are a mist that
appears for a little time and then vanishes." - James 4:14
I’ve been thinking about this verse this morning and
wondering how differently we would live our lives if we really believed that this
verse is true. Because, the wisdom of
this verse is freeing in a way. Life
here on earth is short – too short to waste it worrying about “what ifs…” Fear of what might happen or what people
might think often holds us back or causes us to put things off until later.
But, we aren’t guaranteed a later. And, if we’re not careful, we’ll waste the
time we have here. We’ll be so focused
on avoiding pain or loss that we'll miss the opportunity to experience great
joy. We may be ”safe” – but how boring
is that?! I don’t want to look back at
the end of my life and just see a pale grey existence. I want to see a life filled with colors – ups
and downs – love and joy and sorrow and pain.
I want to experience all that God has for me here in this life with the
knowledge that there’s even more to look forward to in the life to come.
I want to make a difference in the world – and making a
difference sometimes requires us to risk everything that makes us feel safe and
secure. It requires us to step outside
of our comfort zone into the great unknown.
But, if we remember that our life here is but a mist – a precious mist
meant to be enjoyed and lived to the fullest – a mist meant to leave a mark on
the world around us – I think it makes it a little easier to take those risks
and chase those dreams and sacrifice the safety of the “good life” for the wild
and wonderful ride that makes this a “great life.”
To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The
purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be
compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived
well.”
And, I would add - The purpose of life is not to be safe. Life is too short to be bound by fear. James 4:14 reminded me this morning that it’s
time to kick fear in the face and get out there and live life – and live it
well.
