ONLY ONE LIFE

Recently I read the words of the hymn, "Only One Life." It was written many years ago by Avis Christiansen. Above the hymn were the words from James 4:14, “Ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” As I pondered these words, I thought back to the times I played with soap bubbles in my childhood. I would take the little wand from the colored bottle my mom purchased at a local five-and-dime store, put it near my lips and blow gently. Almost like magic, an assortment of various-sized bubbles would begin to float in the air and then vanish almost as suddenly as they appeared. It was cheap entertainment on a long summer day, but little did I realize the picture of life it was painting before my eyes. Back to the hymn I began with: The second stanza is what struck me the most. In it, the dedication of a life is narrowed down to the present moments that we all possess. It reads in part, "Only this hour is mine, Lord-- may it be used for thee; May every passing moment count for eternity." What is a moment in the light of eternity? Not very much at all, but it is all that we can be assured of, so we must take the moments, bundle them into hours, days, months, and years, and use them for the glory of God. The lesson of soap bubbles need not escape us now. The Christian must not live without purpose or plan. We are not on this earth to be entertained, but to redeem the time, because life is short, and we have "only one life." “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).

Dear Christian friends, make it your aim to give your life wholly to the One who gave his life wholly for you. “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:7, 8). This side of heaven is the only time we have to sow diligently, pray faithfully, and reap joyfully. All that we do for Jesus in this world will bring us great joy when we see him face to face and hear him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).

May the Lord richly bless your labors for him,

Pastor Tom

“For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again”(2 Corinthians 5:14-15,NKJ).