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James says: "Let the lowly brother glory in his exhalation, but
the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he
will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat
than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance
perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits" (Jas.
1:9-11).
How is life like a flower? Life is brief. It is here one day and
gone the next. Sometimes life ends unexpectedly just as a flower
that is burned up by the sun and dies before having lived an entire
season.
Life is like a flower. We must care for our life as we must care
for our flowers. Sometimes, flowers die because we do not take care
of them. We may neglect to water them or feed them properly. If
we neglect our flowers they will die prematurely. And if we neglect
our bodies, we will die prematurely.
Life is like a flower. Often times a flower's life abruptly ends.
If you are like me, I sometimes accidentally kill our flowers with
the lawn mower (for which I get in trouble). In life, accidents
occur; therefore, we must be ready to die without a moment's notice.
Life is like a flower. It lives and dies. Then, it is forgotten.
Someone may make a fuss over a flower for a short time, but no one
eternally grieves over its passing. Soon, no one remembers the flower
that had lived. It is dead and replaced by another flower that receives
the glory of nature.
Our life is like a flower. We live and die. We are soon forgotten.
Someone makes a fuss over us for a short time and then our existence
on earth is forgotten. Thousands of years from now, no one living
will remember our life. Yes, history may record our birth and death;
and it may even record a moment in time of our life. But no one
will stay up night after night grieving our passing. At most, our
life will be but a fleeting thought.
Comprehending that life is like a flower has a positive impact
upon us. If I comprehend the brevity of life, I will live each day
as if it were my last. Indeed, it may be my last day to live. Think
about this: What would you do today if you knew you were going to
die tomorrow? Would you change anything about yourself?
If I comprehend the brevity of life, I will be ready to stand before
the Lord in judgment. I will look forward to the day that I may
see my Lord and worship at His feet. Therefore, I will count it
all joy when I fall into various trials (Jas. 1:2-8), I will endure
temptations and not sin (Jas. 1:12-18), I will be swift to hear,
slow to speak, slow to wrath (Jas. 1:19-20), I will be a doer of
God's word and not only a hearer (Jas. 1:21-27).
Do you comprehend the brevity of life?
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