Written by Paul Washer
Over the last few days I have felt compelled to write the following word to the youth. I ask you to prayerfully consider the things you will read. If you find any truth in what is written, then I admonish you to adjust your life accordingly. Do not waste your life!
Remember the Brevity of Life
The first man was created in the image of God. If he had submitted to the will of God, he would have been immortal. He would have passed through the years of his unending existence from strength to strength, without deterioration or decay. The passing of time would have brought him to greater levels of maturity, contentment, and joy. His existence would have abounded with purpose and glory.
With the advent of sin, all was lost, and man’s existence became tragically twisted and deformed beyond recognition. Man became a mortal being of brief duration, weariness, and futility. He now lives his life until all vitality is drained away, all purpose is demolished, and the body finally returns to the dust from which it came. It is not without reason that the preacher cries out, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).
As a young man or woman, you must constantly fight off the temptation to forget about the brevity of life and the vanity of even the longest life lived apart from God’s will. You must learn from the Scriptures that your life is less than a vapor. You must become convinced of this truth, and then you must set it before you as a constant reminder. You are mortal and your days are numbered!
“As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more, and its place acknowledges it no longer” (Psalm103:15).
“...You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).
You know the Scriptures are true. You know that death is a certainty for you. Every tombstone and eulogy bear witness to the inescapable reality that you are going to die. And yet, how is it that you so quickly forget and give yourself to the passing vanities of this life? It is because you are surrounded by a culture that does everything in its power to avoid any thought of the end of life. It is because the god of this age works with all his cunning to keep you entertained and distracted. It is because, although you have been redeemed, you still dwell in a body of fallen flesh that runs for all that is carnal and temporal. Knowing these things, you would do well to both memorize and often pray the prayer of David in Psalm 39:4:
“LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am.
Keeping your mortality at the forefront of your thoughts is not for the purpose of being morbid or lamenting as those who have no hope, but to compel you to hope in Christ alone and to give yourself wholeheartedly to His will for your life. Only in Christ is the grave swallowed up in victory and temporal futility replaced by God’s eternal and glorious purpose for you.
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