Life’s Dimensions
James 4:13-17
13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that."
16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
A few years ago, a letter appeared in the national news that was sent to a deceased person by the Indiana Department of Social Services. It read as follows:
Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992
because we received notice that you passed away.
May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a
change in your circumstances.
Well, except for an occasional Lazarus, there haven’t been too many who have seen a change in those circumstances!
Cynics and saints alike agree that life is short. The difference lies in people’s response to that truth. We can’t control the LENGTH of our lives, but we can control the DEPTH.
As Peter Marshall once said, “The measure of life, after all, is not it’s DURATION, but it’s DONATION.
Common sense and practical experience confirm certain facts about life. And of course the Bible has much to say on this subject. So let’s take that question in James 4:14 and try to answer it: “WHAT IS YOUR LIFE?” (transparencies).
1. Life Is a Mystery
The Lord needed no patent, for no one else is able to create life. Man, with all of his technology and tools cannot invent a seed of corn that would produce an ear. Everything that man produces, had to start with something. But God created everything (including life) out of nothing! He started with zero.
No one has ever been able to fully comprehend life and its physical, mental, and spiritual development. And certainly no one has been able to guarantee a continuance of this life. Death is inevitable—a part of the curse.
Andrew Carnegie offered one million dollars to anyone who could prolong his life by just 10 years. Guess what? No one ever collected.
Life. Who can explain it? We can only stand by in awe of it.
2. Life Is a Gift From God
The Bible says that God created man in HIS OWN IMAGE. In Psalm 8, we read, “What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
We should never cease to thank God for His gift of life and for our families and friends. Life is a gift to be cherished and never demeaned. I believe that the Bible teaches that life begins at conception. Pslam 139:13-16: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Aren’t you glad today that your mother didn’t abort you? And aren’t you glad that Mary did not have an abortion?
Normal functions of the body:
Heart beats 103,680 times a day
Breathe 23,000 times per day
Inhale 438 cubic feet of air
Digest 3 ½ pound of food per day
Assimilate over ½ gallons of liquid in a day
Use 750 muscles per day
Our blood circulates every 23 seconds and travels 43 million miles
We are fearfully and wonderfully made!
Not only is life a MYSTERY and a GIFT FROM GOD…
3. Life Is Precious
Matt 10:29-31: Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Matt 16:26: What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
LIFE IS PRECIOUS! When was the last time you thanked God for your own life? Your personality? Your mind? Your body? Your 5 senses? The ability to love and be loved? The thrill of personally knowing God?
After all, life is WHAT YOU MAKE IT, isn’t it? I say let’s celebrate life! Don’t succumb to the negative.
The seven ages of man: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills. - Richard J. Needham,
4. Life Is an Opportunity
Each day brings mew experiences and fresh occasions where we can grow in our faith and be a blessing to someone else. Here’s a great prayer to start each day with:
Lord, help me this day to be aware of the needs
of others and by Your grace, reach out the helping
hand. Help me to share a word from You that will
lift a fallen soul. Help me to solve problems and
not be one. Help me to leap over barriers with
faith in Your power. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Wow! What a way to live!
Williams James: “The greatest use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it.”
Ob Portu
In the days before modern harbors, a ship had to wait for the flood tide before it could make it to port. The term for this situation in Latin was ob portu, that is, a ship standing over off a port, waiting for the moment when it could ride the turn of the tide to harbor.
The English word opportunity is derived from this original meaning. The captain and the crew were ready and waiting for that one moment for they knew that if they missed it, they would have to wait for another tide to come in. Shakespeare turned this background of the exact meaning of opportunity into one of his most famous passages. It’s from Julius Caesar, Act 4, Scene 3:
There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat;
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
Billy Graham
In his autobiography, Just as I Am, Billy Graham tells about a conversation he had with John F. Kennedy shortly after his election:
“On the way back to the Kennedy house, the president-elect stopped the car and turned to me. ‘Do you believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ?’ he asked. ‘I most certainly do.’ ‘Well, does my church believe it?’ ‘They have it in their creeds.’ ‘They don’t preach it,’ he said. ‘They don’t tell us much about it. I’d like to know what you think.’ I explained what the Bible said about Christ coming the first time, dying on the Cross, rising from the dead, and then promising that he would come back again. ‘Only then,’ I said, ‘are we going to have permanent world peace.’ ‘Very interesting,’ he said, looking away. ‘We’ll have to talk more about that someday.’ And he drove on.”
Several years later, the two met again, at the 1963 National Prayer Breakfast.
“I had the flu,” Graham remembers. “After I gave my short talk, and he gave his, we walked out of the hotel to his car together, as was always our custom. At the curb, he turned to me. ‘Billy, could you ride back to the White House with me? I’d like to see you for a minute.’ ‘Mr. President, I’ve got a fever,’ I protested. ‘Not only am I weak, but I don’t want to give you this thing. Couldn’t we wait and talk some other time?’
It was a cold, snowy day, and I was freezing as I stood there without my overcoat. ‘Of course,’ he said graciously.”
But the two would never meet again. Later that year, Kennedy was shot dead. Graham comments, “His hesitation at the car door, and his request, haunt me still. What was on his mind? Should I have gone with him? It was an irrecoverable moment.”
SUPPOSE YOU HAD ONLY TWO MONTHS TO LIVE? Wouldn’t you take time to visit and speak with those you love and tell them how much you loved them? Wouldn’t you make the most of every opportunity? Of course you would. And so would I. Why don’t we live this way? Life is an opportunity
ONLY ONE LIFE, ‘TWILL SOON BE PAST; ONLY WHAT’S DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST.
A Mystery, a Gift, Precious, and Opportunity—that’s what life is all about. But that’s not all…
5. Life Is an Influence
Others are watching me…my children, my grandchildren, the children and youth of my church—seekers after truth, new Christians—the folks I work and play with—and a host of others I do not know.
I must be true! I must be real! I must be authentic!
My life shall touch a dozen lives before this day is done;
Leave countless marks for good or ill, ere sets the evening sun.
This is the wish I always wish, the prayer I always pray:
Lord, may my life help other lives it touches by the way.
The oldest footprints ever found in North America were discovered near Victorville, California. There were two sets of adult prints and two smaller sets, suggesting a family out for a stroll. The footprints survived because fire swept the area, hardened the mud, and left the tracks. Powdered charcoal found with the tracks enabled scientists to date them. Perhaps none of us will cast a shadow that long or leave an example that lasting. But we will all leave “footprints on the sands of time.”
Illus.: Rev. William Deighton
6. Life Is the Target of Hell
John 10:7-10
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
It is the business of the devil to destroy the works of God. Satan wants to dethrone God from the hearts of men. In fact, it is the desire of the devil to destroy our physical life as well as our spiritual life. So, be on guard, Christian! The Bible says that he is like a roaring lion, on the prowl, seeking to devour us.
Remember Elisha’s servant—how he was filled with fear when he saw the army of the Arameans, who surrounded the prophet’s home—a whole army to capture one man!
Elisha said to his servant, “Don’t be afraid, Those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (II Kings 6:16).
I John 4:4: “Greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world.”
I John 3:8: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”
7. Life Is the Object of Redemption
Illus.: “Redeemed From the Pit”
Several years ago, a very small girl in Texas by the name of Jessica fell down the shaft of an abandoned well. She landed on a small shelf many feet down. Had she fallen a few inches to one side, she would have been lost forever. A microphone was lowered down in an attempt to determine her condition. At one point she could be heard reciting nursery rhymes. Skilled and concerned people labored hard and long to rescue her. The nation cheered as they finally saw a man come out of the tunnel with the little girl in his arms. She had been redeemed from the pit.
That pit was horrible, I’m sure. But there is a pit that is even worse. It is a spiritual pit—the pit of sin. And all of humanity is stuck in it with no way out. But here’s the good news. God launched a rescue operation well before the creation of this planet. The Lord knew that we would fail Him and so He devised a plan to rescue us from Satan’s clutches. He would send a Redeemer—and that Redeemer would be Himself. He would take on human form and eventually give His life as a ransom.
8. Life Is an Eternal Reality
Most people who don’t believe in God deny the reality of life after death. They say the grave ends all, and they feel no need to plan for eternity. Some time ago an unbeliever wanted to make this point, so he had these words inscribed on his tombstone:
All Dressed Up
And No Place To Go
How ironic! It’s true that we put people in their best clothes for the coffin, or we may even purchase new ones. But the Lord Jesus made it undeniably clear that at death we do have "someplace to go" (Jn. 5:25-29).
The Bible says that death and the grave is not the end of existence. While the body is placed in the grave, it is minus its essential being. The spirit has already departed on into eternity.
In I Corinthians 15:19, Paul writes, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” THE TRUEST END OF LIFE IS TO KNOW THE LIFE THAT NEVER ENDS.
Once upon a time there was a fruit stand. Every Sunday morning, the salesman picked a couple of cases of fruit, dressed himself in his suit and tie and then drove to the market. He got out and set up the stall in the early hours of the morning.
He put up a sign which said, “FREE FRUIT.” He pulled out his soapbox and stood on it and every Sunday morning he would shout, “Free fruit to anyone who wants it! Tastes beautiful!” One person walked by and looked at the fruit and said, “There must be something wrong with it if its free.” And he walked off. Another person looked at the sign and then smiled knowingly to himself. He said, “There’s nothing free in this world; there’s got to be a catch.” And he also walked away. Some families looked at the fruit, but they heard rumors that the fruit was addictive, so they kept their children far away from it. A lot of people didn’t like the salesman shouting, so they walked on the other side of the path. One day a young man came by and saw the fruit. He was really hungry so he thought he would check it out. “Is it really free?” he asked. “Yes,” the salesman said. “Does it taste good?” “Absolutely, but you’ll never know unless you try for yourself.” “So what’s the catch?” The salesman smiled to himself and nodded to the young man. “You are right, there is a catch.” “I thought so,” said the young man. “Tell me what it is.” “OK, said the salesman, “You can’t stop eating it. It tastes that good. The young man laughed. “Is that all?” “Well, some folks find it a bit bitter in their stomach. But that’s because they force themselves to eat it.” “Would you like to try a piece?” He grinned. “I’ll try anything once.” So he tried one. He bit into the juicy fruit and savored the exotic flavor on his tongue. “Wow!” he exclaimed. “I have never tasted such delicious fruit before. Where does it come from?” The salesman laughed at the man’s enthusiasm. “It comes from the tree of life.”
9. Life Is an Uncertain Thing
James 4:13,14: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.’”
Visit any graveyard and look at the tombstones—children, teenagers, young adults—people in the prime of life.
The Bible says that life is…
But a shadow
Fragile
Like a breath
Very uncertain—here today, gone tomorrow
WHAT IS LIFE?
To some it is PLEASURE---fun. fun, fun.
To others it is POSSESSIONS—things, stuff, money.
To still others it is SUCCESS and the recognition it brings.
Some are caught up in SPORTS and FITNESS.
How different it is for the Christian who truly lives for Christ. The apostle Paul said, “For me to live is Christ…”
In John 10:10, we have recorded the words of Jesus: “I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.”
Those words were spoken to all of us. If you really want to experience life at its best, make sure Christ is at the center of yours.
