Life is a Vapor

I miss my Dad. My father died about two years ago. He was 78 years old and, up until the week of his death, he was in apparently good health. He was preparing for a trip back to Kansas. He was looking forward to a week or so of hanging out with my uncles on his beloved "hill" -- an acre of land left from the old family farm where he grew up. He started feeling poorly early in the week. He went to the doctor on Wednesday. I received a voice-mail message at noon on Friday. I caught a flight to El Paso and got to my parents' house at 6pm about an hour before my Dad died.

I stayed in Las Cruces for a week doing what I could to help my Mom. Little things stick in my mind about that time -- a half-finished book that we had given Dad for his birthday, e-mail correspondence with the American Mathematical Society about publishing one of his textbooks, tax documents nearly ready to go to the accountant.

That time reminded me of a number of important lessons about life.

Life is a vapor

Life is short and uncertain. James says it is like a vapor that appears for a short time, then vanishes away (James 4:14). Life can end at any time. We spend a great deal of energy thinking about and planning for the future. James warns us to keep in mind that the future you are planning for on this earth may not come. Instead you aught to say, "If the Lord wills", I will do this or that. Life is short. There is no guarantee of tomorrow.

Unfinished things

The things that most struck me the week after my Dad died were the unfinished things. My Dad was in his 70's, but he still had plans. He was going to go on a trip the following week that he never got to take. He was reading a book he didn't get to finish. He was working to get a book edition published that he didn't see through to completion. He had a to-do list.

This article isn't really about my Dad, its about us.

The things I mentioned above are fairly trivial in the eternal scheme of things. But the truth is that anyone who dies unexpectedly is going to have a similar list of unfinished things. What would your list look like? If you died tonight, what things would you leave unfinished? If you had a few days left, what would you try to accomplish?

Perhaps you would tell your family one last time how much you loved them.

Maybe you'd to apologize to a friend for a quarrel that hadn't been resolved.

Perhaps you would finally find the time to speak to a friend about the gospel.

Or, perhaps you'd recognize your own need to be reconciled to God, confessing your faith in Christ Jesus, submitting your life to him in baptism.

Perhaps you'd honestly examine yourself and find sin. You'd pray fervently to God for forgiveness and repent of your rebellion from a sincere heart.

If you'd do these things in the face of eminent death, why don't you do them today? Today may be your last day. What will you leave unfinished?

- PG