Vapor in Pursuit of Nothing

Last night I got an email from a friend telling me that my friend and pastor had experienced a heart attack. He recently had and is still in the process of recovering from surgery for prostrate cancer. Last Monday, during lunch, he shared some of his struggles in recovery as we talked about what was going on in each of our lives.

This morning I was in Psalm 39. In verses 4-6 we read,

"Lord, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; let me know how transient I am. Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Surely every man walks about as a phantom; surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them."

Reality is that much of what we deem important is not. When one with whom we are close faces something like what my friend has faced in these past months, it should prompt us to take stock of how we are investing our lives. Are we chasing "nothing" with the "vapor" of our lives or are we investing in eternity? The Bible tells us that there are only two things that will endure in eternity, the Word of God and the souls of men. My friend has given his life to these.

It is an example well worth following.