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“Friend, Life Is Too Short (#1)”
Categories: Daily LivingFriend, Life Is Too Short (#1) …
Jarrod Jacobs
Perhaps all of us at one time or another have heard someone say words to the effect that, “Life is too short to ….” Yes, based on the Bible’s teachings, we see that our life on earth is very brief. David said, “The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty, yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Ps. 90:10). James said, “For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (Jas. 4:14). These two examples impress upon our minds the brevity of this earth-life.
While our life on earth is short, that is no excuse for justifying evil practices or false doctrine. I am afraid that sometimes we have the attitude that “life is too short” to worry about sin, so “live and let live.” Such an attitude attempts to take the emphasis off of the one in error, and place it on the one asking and searching for the truth. When one is living in sin or is teaching false doctrine, and they justify their behavior by saying, “Listen, friend, life is too short ....”, the men using such justifications have it wrong.
The fact is that when it comes to living in sin, “life is too short” for people to continue in such behavior. It is for this reason that there is a continued emphasis in the Bible on teaching and practicing the truth, and repenting of one’s sinful ways now (Lk. 13:3; II Pet. 3:9). This is because man’s time on earth is “too short” to waste living in error.
Jeremiah said that God’s word was “in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not” (Jer. 20:9, NKJ). Jeremiah was one who had to speak when it came to preaching against the wickedness of Judah. To him, life was “too short” for him to be silent and allow the people of God to remain ignorant and die in their sins.
When Christ lived on this earth, His emphasis was upon people repenting and doing it right away. On one occasion, a man stated his intention to follow Christ but intended on doing it later. Christ responded, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead” (Matt. 8:22). Our responsibility is to Christ first, and then to others! We make a grave mistake when we put things/people before Christ.
Yes, friends, “life is too short” to live in sin and outside of Christ. There is a change that is demanded of all of us, and it is something which must be done before it is too late (II Cor. 6:2)!
Let us learn that “life is too short” to spend it living in sin. We have a limited amount of time on earth and must be about our Father’s will while we have breath in our bodies. Our Lord said, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (Jn. 9:4).
