Vapour in the Wind

I tumbled out of bed this morning and was less than amused at the thought of going to church in my half-wakeful state. I remember once leading a discussion on preparing our hearts before going to church and being ready to receive God's word that today. This morning I was not in the mind or mood for preparation but thanks be to God that He can speak to me despite my human disgrace. Anyway... This morning David Smith from ICC was speaking at our church. The first thing I noticed as he got up to speak was that, alarmingly, he had no power-point. Sometimes in the morning, having failed to prepare my heart and mind, I rely on the power-point to guide me through and I could tell that this morning was going to require extra effort. Good on him for keeping my attention.

This morning's passage was from James 4. A mixture of verses, in particular v. 13 and 14. These verses are echoed in the song 'Who am I?' by Casting Crowns and as soon as the words 'vapour in the wind' were read I found myself hearing the song. David's whole interpretation of the passage embodied the attitude of James that we must realise and accept our own mortality. As he pointed out we are living in a day and age which seems to deny and prevent the very process of age and refuses to speak of death for fear of being pessimistic. We live in an age which encourages us to map out our lives from one step to the next, always pushing us forward at every opportunity and barely - if ever - allows opportunity for God's will to the deciding factor, however unpredictable it may seem. Although, as David pointed out, the relevance or credibility of the writing of James has previously come in to question I found the passage valid and encouraging.

Always debating the precariousness of my current situation and the fact that I am very vague about what the future holds other than God's leading, it was an encouragement to have my attitude verified. My mother is ever in favour of taking practical measures and having a plan A, B and C. At the moment I seem only to have a sense of God's leading to step one and am as yet unaware of step two or three. Sometimes I wonder if this is just me being the 'hippy' that I would like to be - leaping in to the future with uncertainty and enthusiasm and I wonder if in fact I should become the level-headed, plan-ahead person that my mum is. However, David's message this morning convicted and encouraged me once more that, although practical measures for the present must always be in place, there is no predicting what God will do today or tomorrow. I have one life and want to live it for the kingdom - for what other cause would be worth devoting a life time to? As Elliot said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Money, power and status are becoming a priority in this life. While each in their own right is not a bad thing, our vision must be set beyond these for in a life as frail and unpredictable as this, what good will any of them do? Previous to David's sermon I had been listening to a song by one of my favourite artists, Nicole C. Mullen. Her song " When Heaven Calls" just about sums up James's attitude to the nature of this life and the vision of eternity.

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"When Heaven Calls"
Nicole C. Mullen

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"Much faster than the blink of an eye,
Lightning will flash and he'll split the sky.
Nobody knows the day or the time,
The trumpet shall sound and we will arise.

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When heaven calls and this life is over
We'll stand before our God and Saviour.
When heaven calls
We must be ready
To trade these mortal things
For immortality
When heaven calls.

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For every man there is a time
To love and to laugh, to live and to die.
So I'm living for the one who is Love
And I'm dying to hear Him say 'Well done'
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When heaven calls and this life is over
I'll stand before my God and Saviour.
When Heaven calls I will be ready
To trade these mortal things
For immortality
When Heaven calls."