Life is short

Since he was diagnosed with CLL (chronic lymphatic leukemia), my husband often tells people that all of us wake up each morning by the grace of God. He demonstrates how a threat like this has a blessing in it; it reminds us that every life is terminal. Because life is short, we realize the importance of making sure where we stand with God.

Certainly some will say, “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die” (Luke 12:19) denying that “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27) and displaying the foolishness of those who say there is no God.

Those who take this attitude live with no hope, yet for most of us, the shortness of life hits us with thoughts of eternity. So it should. Even Jesus considered His relationship with the Father as He hung on the cross. Luke tells us that just before He died, Jesus showed great faith:

And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last. (Luke 23:46)

Peter wrote about Jesus’ attitude as my example. He was talking about how I should “not return evil for evil” but instead bless my enemies (1 Peter 3:9) and then told how Jesus did it by “committing Himself to Him who judges righteously” (2:23).

The Greek word translated as “committed” means “to hand over for someone to keep.” When Jesus suffered, He handed over His circumstances and Himself to God because He was confident in the righteous judgment of God. He knew His Father had the power to make all things right. This confidence allowed Him to accept what was happening to Him, even death.

I see this in my husband. When he was told about the CLL, then a few months later had a heart attack, his trust in the Lord deepens and he encouraging others to also trust Christ. After all, what are the options? We could deny that death is inevitable, or say it is just the end and nothing else happens. Or we can look at Jesus. He died for us so we don’t have to face the wrath of God’s judgment on our sin. He rose from the dead for us too, so we know that God has power over death.

Life is short. No one knows when their life will end. The best option is to put our faith in Jesus Christ and commit our spirit into the keeping power of God.

The bonus is that He gives us an overwhelming confidence. We know that no matter what happens to us, He will hold us in His hands and we are eternally safe in His care.