You’ve probably noticed, but Christmas is fast approaching. Many of us are very much in the midst of preparations, worrying if there’s enough time to get things done. But before we know it, Christmas will become a fading memory. Poof! Funny how that happens.
Have you ever gotten up in the morning and looked out the window to see a light fog blanketing the landscape? Then, 10-15 minutes later you glanced out again to see the sun breaking through and the mist has vanished? In some ways, this and the now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t nature of Christmas are metaphors for everyday living.
As the years go by, we also experience a somber reality: the passing of old friends and family members; former classmates in high school and college; coworkers past and present; parents, grandparents, siblings, uncles, aunts and cousins. They’re here – and then they’re not. These sad events confirm that life is shorter than we once believed. Like the morning mist, one day we all will be missed.
Just in case we might forget this, James 4:14 offers this sobering reminder, “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.” (Is that why our thinking sometimes gets a little foggy?)
Familiar Christmas carols and songs have a way of jogging our memories as well. We enjoy hearing beloved tunes by the likes of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, Karen Carpenter, Johnny Mathis, Burl Ives and others. Their music lives on, but they’re no longer with us.
Or consider classic Christmas films like “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed; “Miracle on 34th Street” with Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood and Maureen O-Hara; “A Christmas Carol” with Alistair Sim (or Reginald Owen); and one of my all-time favorites, “March of the Wooden Soldiers” starring the slapstick duo of Laurel & Hardy. Their personas perpetuated on film long after they’ve departed this life.
If we ponder this long enough it can be depressing. Who wants to think of their own lives as “a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes”? But we can use this truth as a positive motivator instead, appreciating the time we have and determining to use it to accomplish something worthwhile.
The Scriptures seem to endorse the latter approach. Psalm 90:12, for instance, encourages us to let the Lord “teach us to number our day aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Similarly, the apostle Paul admonished his readers they should be “redeeming the time” or, ”making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). Days are “evil” because – unless you’re having a real-life “Groundhog Day” experience – time doesn’t give us a do-over.
Jesus sought to impress on His hearers the proper perspective to maintain, striving to live each day with our devotion to God paramount. He said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:33-34).
Again, thoughts of how transitory life is can overwhelm us. But if we seek to understand God’s point of view, we can find this reality encouraging. First of all, God is in control. As Psalm 139:16 (in the New Living Translation) tells us, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Secondly, if we’ve entrusted our lives and hearts to Jesus Christ, we’re assured that when our “earthly mist” disappears, the best is yet to come. Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms…. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me…” (John 14:1-3).
That should leave you feeling a little misty – in a good way!
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