The next biblical question we want to consider is one asked by James, and it is a very good question.  In James 4:14, he asked the simple question, “what is your life.”  He asked this question with regard to the duration of our lives.  He answered it by saying, “For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Life is short.  Today, most people die before they reach one hundred years old, and many long before that.  If you listen to someone in their twilight years talk, they will tell you how quickly life has gone.  When you are in your eighties, your thirties seem like yesterday.  That’s life.  Job reminds us that  “Man who is born of woman is of few days…” (Job 14:1).

We should remember, not only the question that James asked, but, the answer to the question, and we should live our lives accordingly.  Knowing that life is so short should preclude us from procrastinating.  Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today because you do not know how many days you have left.  It may be that you have many days of life left, or you may have only a few.  Let us all determine to take advantage of the time we have.

Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)
¹⁵  Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶  making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

Why should we make the best use of our time?  Paul said it is because the days are evil.   First, the days are evil in that the world is filled with unrighteousness that presents Christians with many temptations to use their time doing things that are contrary to the will of God.  So, we must determine to use our time doing things that are pleasing to God and not worldly in nature.

Romans 13:11-14 (ESV)
¹¹  Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ¹²  The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.    

The days are evil in the way Solomon suggested in the book of Ecclesiastes as well; that is, as time goes on, our bodies wear out and just living becomes more difficult, let alone serving God actively.  Here is what he said.

Ecclesiastes 12:1-3 (ESV)
¹  Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; ²  before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, ³  in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed,

The wise man is describing the time when the body breaks down, and we can no longer do the things that we would like to do.  Let us make the best use of our time while we still have the power to do the work of the Lord.  Our life is like a mist that vanishes.  The time is now to serve God.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.