James 4:14, commentary and pictures

Life is a mist that shows itself for a short while and then disappears, so brief and temporary is the span given to human beings. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, for months and years are not promised and only the present day belongs to us. It is presumption to lay out fixed plans for travel, trade and gain a year ahead, since all planning for the future must be made conditional on the Lord's will and laid before Him each morning to be kept or set aside as He directs. Human beings cannot see the outcome of any course while God sees the end from the beginning and works all things for their best good. Because precious time is fast passing and death or judgment may come without warning, self and all possessions are to be consecrated to the Lord today, with immediate repentance and faithful use of each day as if it were the last.

Life Brief and Uncertain

What is life but a vapour, a mist, a morning vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away, brief, temporary and soon gone. Its short appearing and quick disappearing show how uncertain it is, with no assurance of living long enough to carry out plans. This short life is a temporary stay in a strange country, not the lasting home.

No one knows what shall be on the morrow or what the next day will bring, and plans about the future cannot be made with certainty. Months and years are not promised; only the day given belongs to us, and that day is to be worked as if it were the last. No tomorrow belongs to us; only the Now is ours, and that Now is ever present and ever urgent, with conditions and duties that must in no case be neglected. This uncertainty bears on the close of probation, where walking humbly before God makes it possible to finish work with joy.

Death may come suddenly, without warning and unexpectedly, and no one can claim even one more hour. Bodily strength and skill may soon fail, health may fail, and strength or ability may be suddenly lost, so no one has a guaranteed span of life or a lease on life to carry out personal purposes. No person is immortal or can assume present work will always continue. The sudden unexpected death of Byron illustrates this, with comfort in knowing he had been wholly consecrated to God, and the same uncertainty calls parents to teach children about God's love and prepare them for eternal life, resisting envy, jealousy and hatred through earnest effort.

Human life lasts only a little time and then vanishes, because it is given and dependent and can be quenched. It is unlike the life of Christ, which is everlasting and existed before the worlds were made. All power and brain power are received from God, human power is not in self but in divine agencies, and people have nothing they have not received and are wholly dependent upon Him. The treasures, honors and joys of this life are therefore transitory and uncertain. Earthly life lasts only a brief moment and passes away, to be contrasted with the future immortal life in the mansions prepared by Jesus, which calls for children to be taught from childhood to love eternal things.

Plans Subject to God's Will

To declare a fixed purpose to go to a city and spend a year there buying and selling for gain is presumption, for no one holds a lease to carry out personal purposes and God may have different plans. Plans about the future cannot be made with certainty but must be made conditional on the Lord's will. This holds for a planned return whose time cannot be confidently fixed but must be left for the Lord to decide, for even so small a matter as writing a letter in two weeks, and for daily work. Each morning self is to be consecrated, plans are to be placed before Him, and they are to be accepted or abandoned as His providence directs.

Human beings do not know what shall be on the morrow or what the outcome of any movement will be. God sees all past movements and errors and knows the outcome of every movement. He knows the end from the beginning and works for each person's best good, and human planning is not always His way. No one should lay fixed plans and then expect the Lord to work to those plans, but should let the Lord lead and guide in all matters. If He calls a person from one work to another it is only because His will can be better accomplished in the other line of work.

Human wisdom is not sufficient for planning and devising. Every plan is to be spread before God with fasting and humbling of soul and committed to the Lord with trust in the sure promise that He will direct. Every jot of ability is to be used with sharp, calm, deep thinking, and every talent of means and ability is to be consecrated under the guidance of the Holy Spirit rather than used selfishly merely to buy and sell and get gain and make a place in the earth. No one is to move haphazard, but to fall into line keeping step with Jesus, speaking no word unadvisedly and entering into no action that stirs opposition or creates deeper enmity.

People cannot frame their own destiny or know how their plans will turn out. God may redirect ambitions toward the duties before them, and plans that fail or hopes that are withheld can prove to be blessings because they prepare for what is best, while life's mysteries will be explained in the future. Human plans are uncertain and God may overrule them. Apparent early success in schemes for quick riches such as speculation in lands and mines does not guarantee a good outcome but can end in loss and ruin. Their promised gains may tempt people to abandon honest work at the risk of their souls.

Serve God Without Delay

Life is a vapor that appears for a little while and then disappears, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring or whether plans will ever be carried out, so the future is not to be presumed upon but time is to be used in service to God with an account to be given for how it has been lived. Time filled with precious opportunities for serving the Lord is fast passing into eternity, with only a few more years at most left to work, and because bodily strength and skill may soon fail and no one holds a lease on life to carry out personal purposes, self and all possessions must be consecrated to His service today without a moment's delay. That consecration means working each day as if it were the last, with each morning given to God and plans placed before Him to be accepted or abandoned as His providence directs. As opportunities pass they are to be improved by cheering and encouraging those seeking help, by strengthening associates through influence, by giving possessions faithfully to the Lord, by casting care upon Him, and by refusing to let worldly things separate from Him.

Because no one knows how soon death may come and life can end suddenly, it is of highest importance to make peace with God now, through immediate and wholehearted repentance and return rather than delay or indecision. The present is the urgent opportunity to turn from sin, with envy, jealousy, and hatred to be resisted through earnest effort, and walking humbly before God makes it possible to finish work with joy. There is peril in postponing that choice, for probation is closing and strength or ability may suddenly be lost. Judgment is near, and all must stand before God to answer for deeds done and give an account of stewardship.

A life devoted to God is hidden in Him, and a name registered in heaven is immortalized. This was the comfort at Byron's sudden and unexpected death, that no one knew how long life would be spared yet he had been wholly consecrated to God. Since no one knows how soon their own turn will come and death may arrive without warning, parents are to teach children about God's love and prepare them for eternal life. From childhood they are to be taught to love eternal things in contrast to an earthly life that lasts only a brief moment and passes away.