James 4:13-17
13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas 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. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
“What is your life?” This very important question was posed by the earliest author of New Testament Scripture, James. James was a brother of the Lord Jesus, a son of Mary and Joseph. Consider James’ perspective on things. He was not a believer until the resurrection, yet he grew up in a household with the perfect Son of God. He became a pillar in the early church and a prominent leader in the church at Jerusalem.
He writes the letter of James to Christians who are scattered abroad about enduring trials and demonstrating their faith by how they live. Perhaps his most famous words are found in James 2:20, “faith without works is dead.” His point is not that people earn their salvation by their works, but that if a person is truly saved and truly knows Jesus, then their life will give evidence in what they do.
Towards the end of his letter, he addresses professing Christians who are apparently living their lives with what has been called “practical atheism.” What that means is that they may “believe” in God and profess to know Jesus, but they live their lives as if He does not exist. This is reflected in their plans. They plan as if they will live forever and they plan without God’s will being considered. James teaches us that we must acknowledge three things when we live our lives: the brevity of life, the Source of life, and the purpose of life.
James is quick to remind those of us who live our lives in a selfish way that our lives are very short, that tomorrow is not guaranteed, and God has saved us for a purpose. The Apostle Paul wrote, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16).
God has purposes for our lives that we might live in such a way that glorifies Him. The Apostle Paul was quick to remind the church at Corinth who lived carelessly in sin, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
The bottom line is that James tells us if we live our lives without God’s will as the focus then “it is sin” (James 4:17). Many people put off serving Jesus until later in life. They say things like, “I’ll serve Jesus when I retire or when I have more time” or “Once I’ve experienced all I want to experience, then I’ll give the rest of my life to the Lord.” What God’s Word calls us to in this passage is to live our lives for Him today and to never take tomorrow for granted because our lives are a “vapor,” a short puff of steam that lasts for a brief moment in comparison with eternity. The reality is that how we live now has eternal ramifications. What we do with the little bit of time we have been given will matter tremendously for eons to come.
How are you spending your time now? How are you living your life? Is God’s will your concern or things of this world? This new year, let’s make a commitment together to be “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). Let’s make the most of the time that God has given us for His glory in 2023.