Psalm 90:9 For all our days are passed away"..... "we spend our years as a tale that is told. 10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
This passage of scripture reminds us of the frailty of this mortal life, which begins as the dawn but then passes as a dream. The average lifespan here referred to pertains to most of us, and if we adhere to God's laws and commandments, even these can be extended further. However, the sad fact is that many individuals do not even make it to seventy years, and we are seeing more and more that many younger people, children, and babies are dying before they make it onto the stage of life. Some of the reasons are given in the scriptures and other reasons are not given, however, we know that God sits on the throne, and that He does everything in the best interest of the human family.
A person's life can be cut short by a wrong course of action, such as the smoking of tobacco products, which have adverse effects on the lungs and delicate membranes of the throat. This soul-destroying habit can then affect the unborn child who had nothing to do with the parent's decision to indulge a wrong course of action. Again, a young man in his teens can bite the dust prematurely by drag racing, a popular sport which comes with many inherent risks. All such activities contribute to the natural frailty of life, and should be avoided at all costs. The general tenor of "The fear of the Lord" is to avoid as much as possible taking any unnecessary risks that can add to our mortality, a motif we all should live by. Let's read:
Ecclesiastes 7:17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
However there are many instances where a person's early demise is not the direct result of a wrong course of action, and thus we are confronted on a daily basis with the fact that death is a part of our experience, which sooner or later will take its toll. The recent tragedy of the horrific plane crash in the French Alpine mountains serves as a grim reminder that we are not promised tomorrow, and although we may do everything to avoid any unnecessary risks, yet the grim reaper can come knocking on our doors in unexpected times and ways. Several young children who were now in their blooming years, together with babies who were barely out of the gates, were also killed, according to reports, and the big question now is, "What's next" for them. What will their eternal destiny be, given the fact that many of them probably did not have time to make it right with God?
The answer to these troubling questions remain with the living, for we are still given the opportunity to shape our own destiny. There is a tendency to put off from our minds the great theme of salvation, until we're faced with some sudden tragedy or misfortune that brings us face to face with death. It is not the will of God that we should thus deal with the frailties of this life, but instead we should live every day as though it were our last, for none of us are promised tomorrow. When the still small voice of God calls us to repentance, and to make good on His gracious overtures of grace and mercy, that's the time to act, so that if we were to be suddenly cut off out of the land of the living, we could rest assured that it will be well with our souls when the resurrection morning comes.
Although we may never find the answers to all of life's perplexing questions, yet we may have the assurance of peace with God, and to those who have entered into a covenant relationship with Christ, we are given the promise of eternal life at the second coming of Christ. We thus end with a passage of scripture which keeps this hope alive in our hearts, and today is our opportunity to be united to Christ, who is both Creator and Redeemer to all those who follow Him. Let's read:
John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
May God help us to live everyday in the context of the frailty of this life, and in the prospect of immortality. God bless!