Life is so brief, which brings a focus on what really matters. There are only a few short years before health and life disappear. We are “a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). How should we spend these few short years?
In the Lord’s Prayer, that contains six requests, only one (Give us today our daily bread) is about physical needs. Time and again, Jesus underlines the priority and importance of establishing his kingdom, through his own death and resurrection, and then the proclamation of his death and resurrection. Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught his disciples not to store up treasures on earth, but to store up treasurers in heaven; and not to be anxious about physical things, but to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.
Jesus asks us what we’re going to do with the few short years he has given us. What matters most? What should dominate our lives, concerns, priorities and prayers? What will be gained by investing our energies and efforts into things that won’t last?
Jesus says “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life.” (John 6:27).
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