Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Surely every man walks about as a phantom; Surely they make an uproar for nothing; He amasses riches and does not know who will gather them.
Psalm 39:4-6

We all tend to believe that we have plenty of time. But do we? I’m not trying to be morbid or morose, but rather objective in taking a look at life. Solomon was not the least bit negative when he said that to be in a house of mourning (a funeral) is better than to be at a party, because that is the end of every man and the living will take it to heart (see Ecclesiastes 7:1-4).

I was just 13 when my dad died. One evening he and I were sitting at home together and he said that his chest hurt. My brother-in-law came and took him to the hospital. I never saw him alive again. He was only 49.

The world is full of sad stories of people who died “before their time”. We always believe it will be someone else, but James warns us:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.    James 4:13-16


James had earlier warned the rich that they put no confidence in their wealth to sustain their lives, but understand that they too are like the flowers that wither and die as soon as they are scorched by the sun. Rather than come to a slow, tapering, predictable end, they would fade away in the midst of their pursuits, James 1:10-11.

The apostle Peter, surely quoting from Isaiah as James had done, said:

ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OFGRASS. THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWERS FALL OFF, BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER. 1st Peter 1:24-25

If this were your last hour, are you ready? Would your loved ones celebrate your passing into the presence of Jesus, or forever mourn a loved one lost?