Taken Too Soon

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.””

(James 4:13–15, ESV)

This morning came with a punch for our family; we learned of a man we knew who died suddenly on Sunday … a man only 38 years old, married 16 years, and father of three elementary aged children. He was highly engaged with his family, worked diligently in his business, and served his community in a variety of ways. No one expected him to die.

It is a reminder to me of how fleeting life is. We think we are in control, but we are not. I am being shown how much (even in the midst of this coronavirus pandemic) I think I am in control of the details of my life when I am clearly not. This is making me think about the trivial things I make into a big deal, about the anger and resentment I sometimes hold on to, and about how nonchalant I can be about expressing love and value to those closest to me.

If today is the day the Lord calls me home, am I ready? Am I content with leaving this life with things the way they are? Are my relationships as right as they can be; have I done everyone I can? Am I walking right with the Lord, or have I been ignoring His gentle reminders of that thing that is keeping Him at a distance?

Let us plan for our future but live fully today! Let us be ready to be taken the moment the Lord sees fit.