Listen to this devotion here.
The Only Thing Worth Living For
What is life? It is only a vapor—here one instant and gone the next. As you get older, you become more keenly aware of this, and soon you realize that you most likely have more years behind you than ahead of you.
So, what is life’s purpose? Is it, as some have suggested, to “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die”? That very thought leaves an empty feeling, because if that is all there is, how can you possibly be merry?
Some would say, “Work hard, make lots of money, and accumulate a lot of stuff!” But just as the tide comes in and destroys the sandcastles, so death comes and strips away all our possessions.
The Bible tells us that heaven and earth will pass away, and so will life; it will evaporate like a mist blowing in the wind.
I have seen churches become barns and barns become churches. I have seen rich people become poor and poor people become rich. I have seen the artificial joy of drugs and alcohol turn into the genuine devastation of disease and death. All the while, people are trying to find something solid to hold on to in this vapor that is life!
Yes, life is but a vapor. Yet this life is a gift that God has given us, and the most precious part of that gift is our uniqueness. Each of us has a specific purpose. No one can live your life, but you, and no one can fulfill your purpose but you. Life is but a vapor, so you do not have time to waste.
Some people say, “I cannot find my purpose in life!” To this I say, don’t make it more mysterious than it is. Whatever your hands find to do, do it for the glory of God. Whether you are driving a truck or driving a nail, teaching school or sweeping one, do it for the glory of God. Then you will find your purpose, and your life will be fulfilled.
Yes, life is but a vapor—here today and gone tomorrow. We can do nothing about that. But we can live our lives in such a way that, one day, when we stand before the God of eternity, He will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” And that, my friends, is the only thing worth living for!
From the Bible
“Lord, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them.”
Psalms 39:4-6 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/psa.39.4-6.NKJV
Douglas & Deborah Huff
From Down Where the Pavement Ends
email-douglas@pavementendsministry.com
