"Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom."
- Psalm 90:12 NLT
There is a man whose writings and ministry inspires me and his name is Angus Buchan. In reference to an incident whereby one moment he was on the platform, preaching his heart out to the biggest crowd of men that's ever gathered for a conference in South Africa and the next moment he was lying in the grass, helpless, possibly due to a heart attack; he wrote in his book Coming of Age: The Road to Spiritual Maturity:
I have, in the last three weeks, come to the full realization
of the meaning of the words “brevity of life”. I’m sixty-one
years old as I write this book and it’s taken me sixty-one
years to come of age. It’s a funny thing, you can go on
preaching and teaching about the importance of life, tell
your children, your congregation, your friends, the world,
but unless the Holy Spirit reveals it to you in a very drastic
way, you never really understand what it means when you
hear that life is but a vapour. It’s like the grass of the field.
It’s here today but gone tomorrow. Especially when you
are a young person, you think you’re going to live forever.
It really saddens my heart more and more each day as it
seems as if there are more young people dying than older
people, especially in our beloved continent of Africa.
In most cases death reminds us that we are just passing by on this earth. In fact, most of the time we do not want to be reminded that there is a day that is coming where we will have to say goodbye to this world. We live our lives like we are permanent citizens of this planet.
How I pray that we may be wise. How I pray that we may realize that life is short. How I pray that we may start living with full realization that life indeed is a vapour. I know that sometimes we do not want to entertain such a subject. I know that sometimes we do not even want to entertain the message that Jesus is coming back very soon. I believe that devil has his hold on us so that we live life as if we are in total control of our number of days on this planet.
The Psalmist says, "Teach us the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom." On the other hand Paul says, "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:15-17 NKJV).
When we begin to understand the brevity of life we will live circumspectly, as wise people. To be circumspect is to think carefully about possible risks before doing or saying something. Foolish people speak before they think and they act before they think but wise people take everything into consideration before they find themselves in trouble. If you understand the brevity of life, you will act wisely.
My dear friend, as we go about our daily lives, let us live as if this is our last day on earth. That means let us make sure that we have a right relationship with God. Let us be mindful of how we conduct our selves. Life is short. Most importantly, let us seek the will of the Lord. If we understand the brevity of life, we will understand the need to do the will of the one who holds our lives in His hand. His name is Jesus.
My prayer is; "Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom."
