Consider these two points again; every day we live is another gift to us from the gracious will of God who holds our lives in the palm of His hand. Everything we have or ever will accomplish in life should find us giving credit and glory to God; and not boasting about what we have done on our own. After all, what is my life but a mist that rises up and vanishes away? That leads us to this third and final point; if there is any good thing that you and I should be doing with our lives we had better do it while we have the chance, because tomorrow is not promised!

Is there some good deed you have been intending to do, but time and the pressures and circumstances of life kept pushing it to the back burner? Have you been intending to volunteer some time in an area where your involvement could make a difference? Have you been planning to make a donation to some worthy cause that badly needs that financial gift you have been planning to give but have never gotten around to doing so? Is there a broken relationship you have been meaning to restore with a word of apology or a show of forgiveness on your part? Is there some good that you know you should have done by now, but you kept telling yourself that you would get around to it soon – later – after a while – as soon as you get a certain project out of the way, and so on?

Let’s not stop with work and worldly concerns; let’s focus now on the things of God and the life of the soul. Have you been meaning to spend more time in prayer and Bible study? Were you planning to start tithing a portion of your income to the Lord? Were you wondering whether or not your salvation was secure since your relationship with Christ was so erratic and irregular? “I am going to join the church,” someone says to himself, as soon as he can get around to it. “I know I should join the choir or some other auxiliary,” says another busy soul; and I will just as soon as I get a few more things in order.

Does that sound like anyone here today; telling God what you are going to do for God after you have done everything that needs to be done for yourself? “Yes, Lord, I will take care of your business just as soon as I have taken care of mine.” Who are we and what are our lives that we should put off until some future date, sometimes a distant date in the future, actions we should have taken care of yesterday? We are a mist that rises up and vanishes away. We are a puff of smoke that is here one minute and completely gone the next. Take it from me; we are a kernel of popcorn away from the graveyard.

It is a sin, says James to know the good things we should be doing but not doing them because we are putting them off for a later time. Perhaps I should remind you once again of my favorite anonymous poem; it seems to fit this moment and this message.

I have only just a minute,

Only 60 seconds in it;

Forced upon me, didn’t choose it,

Didn’t seek it, can’t refuse it;

So it’s up to me to use it,

Have to suffer if I lose it,

Pay a price if I abuse it.

Just a tiny little minute,

But eternity is in it.

What is my life? It is a mist that rises up and vanishes away. It is frail and vulnerable, and my 6’ 5” body can be brought down by a kernel of popcorn that weighs less than an inch. It is not me that keeps my life going; it is the God within me and the God around me and the God beneath my feet.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing me back from the brink of death and back to active consciousness just six days ago. Thank you, Lord, for reminding me and allowing me to remind others that without you I can do nothing. Finally, thank you for reminding me that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

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Marvin McMickle is Senior Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio.