What is your life?

Life is so transitory. It doesn’t always feel like it. At times we feel that we are invincible and the eternal hardly crosses our minds. Day to day passes and the here and now seems so pressing, so immediate, so important.

Death can change that perspective, especially when it is close loved ones who depart this life. A grandmother and an aunt recently both suddenly passed away, unexpectedly. I say unexpectedly because, despite old age and illness, death still comes without warning. I lived 2000 miles away from these relatives but despite the distance there are still plenty of precious memories. Both my grandmother and aunt had strong, real faith in Jesus. Both set godly examples of what it means to be a Christian, trusting him through the journey of life, in the good times and the bad times. My grandmother lived a life of prayer for her family spread out over the USA and farther afield around the world. My aunt had pressing physical difficulties throughout her whole life and yet she exhibited a simple, childlike trust in Jesus that was an example of what Jesus said a Christian should be.

In my recent travels to these 2 funerals and a cousin’s joyous wedding, I was struck by the changing nature of the clouds I was viewing from numerous airplane windows. I was reminded that as James said, our lives are like those clouds, appearing for a little time and then vanishing away. What kind of legacy will I leave? Will it be one that leaves a lasting imprint of Jesus and eternity on the lives of others? Will it be one that appears like a vapour and quickly disappears, leaving no impact on others? Will it be a life that, like those clouds, though swirling and disappearing in an instant, gripped and moved me? That, like my grandmother and aunt would have prayed for and lived out in their lives for all to see, giving glory to Jesus, who is the same yesterday, today and forever?