Life and Vapor

          Vapors don't last very long. I have a chimney on my house but the new furnace is not piped through the chimney but comes out of the side of the basement wall in a piece of pipe made of pvc. When you come into the house on a cold day through the back door, you can see the vapor coming out of the side of the house in that piece of pvc pipe. It shoots out into the cold air and is visible for only about one second or less. You know that you see it but when the furnace quits running, the wisp of vapor is gone. The same is true of your teakettle. You can't say that it makes to great an impression upon the world in which we live. About the longest vapor I have ever seen was when a jet plane passes high in the sky and leaves a vapor trail that can be seen for several seconds before disappearing. James used this illustration to speak to us about our lives upon this earth. When our life is compared to eternity, it really doesn't seem long at all. James 4:14-15 says, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

            We can sum up our life's experiences with the statement, “They don't last very long.” We often purchase something and read where it may have a life time guarantee. You might stand there and silently ask yourself the question, “Whose lifetime are they talking about?” The lifetime of a butterfly is one week to one month. That's about 7 to 30 days. The average butterfly has a very short life span. About the oldest possession I have right now is a gold pocket watch that belonged to my grandmother on my Father's side of the family and her old hymn book, which is in German and dated in the 1880's That is still not very long when compared to eternity. James compared our lives to that of a vapor which is indeed short. We have, however, the opportunity to make some very important decisions in regard to our “eternal” destination. The most basic of decisions was the one that the Philippian jailer made after asking the Apostle Paul about salvation. Basically, he inquired, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul gave him the answer which was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. There must be many who think, “Well that is so simple, I will just wait until the last minute before making it. After all, I can do that on my death bed.” Unfortunately, none of us know when that time will come. As a result, people put it off or even forget about it and spend more time planning tomorrow's activities than they do being concerned about “eternity.” My cousin, Carol, would call me around the time of my birthday since we were only some thirty three days apart in our age. She didn't call last year and I just thought she forgot, then she didn't call this year either. I found out recently, that she passed away which explained why she had not called. Yes, life is short and as James illustrates it, much like the wisp of vapor. It is here one minute and gone the next. Vapors pass into the atmosphere and become a part of the never ending circle of water which comes down in rain, soaks into the ground, evaporates and the cycle repeats. People think that it is the same with life but the Bible says something quite differently. Hebrews 9:27-28 reminds us, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Praise God today for salvation.