Our days on earth are but a shadow. Job 8:9 (HCSB)
Life is too short. We see this demonstrated in the news all the time. Young lives (young being a relative term as we get older) are often cut short. Many of us probably know people whose lives have ended far sooner than our own expectations would have allowed. Not only are we deeply saddened when someone dies “before their time” but we are also forced to examine our own mortality. Life truly is shadow. Here one minute, gone the next it seems. Like a shadow, life is fragile and with the passing of one cloud can be gone in an instant.
Often times, especially in the lives of celebrities played out through the media, or sometimes through those close to us, we can see it coming. Through the way they live their lives we know it is only a matter of time. It’s as if we can see that cloud moving in front of the sun and the shadow growing smaller and fainter by the second. When death occurs, we can’t help but think, “What a shame” or “What a waste”.
Life really is short, however, eternity is forever. We spend far too much time concentrating on how to make the most of our experience in the temporary and not enough time focusing on what we are going to do with how we are going to spend eternity. This is not to say that while we are here on this earth that we shouldn’t have fun, make money, chase our dreams, etc. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, but when the temporary things of this world begin to overshadow or consume who we are and what we do, and we neglect that which is eternal, there is a problem. Money in the bank, trophies on the wall, a house and a boat on the water are all great things, but you can’t take it with you when you die.
So how are you investing for your future? I challenge you to do two things. First, make sure you take ownership of the wonderful gift of salvation that has been provided you through Jesus Christ and the promise of an eternal life, free from shadows.
Second, spend time investing in the lives of others. Use the talent and the treasure that God has blessed you with here on earth to make an investment in the eternity of someone else. I am not saying that you have to stop what you are doing and become another Mother Teresa, but somehow decide you are going to make a difference in the lives of others. Ask God to show you how you can best serve others.
Choose to invest in the eternal. Remember life is just a shadow. We will not be here forever and honestly none of us know when our life is going to end. Live each day as if it’s your last. Live each day without regret. Live each day for the eternal. Don’t invest in shadows.
“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” Jim Elliot
