Thought for the week with Rev David McMillan: All human life at best is very brief

​As another new year begins, we are reminded again so powerfully that time is passing by so quickly. So soon your life will be over, and very soon you will be in eternity.

Barzillai, the aged and faithful supporter of King David, asked the vital question, “How long have I to live” (Second Samuel 9:34), and at the start of another year that is a good question for you to ponder. How much longer do you have left in this life? The answer is, at best, not long. The Bible over and over again warns you about the shortness of your life here on earth.

In the midst of all his sufferings Old Testament prophet Job declared: “Man that is born of a woman is of few days…” (Job 14:1). When the Patriarch Jacob was one hundred and thirty years of age he said of his life: “Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, " (Genesis 47:9). Paul the Apostles declared: “The time is short", (First Corinthians 7:29). James taught that your life, “Is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time,” (James 4:14).

The message is clear, the longest life is short, especially when it is compared to eternity, and it is important to face up to that reality. As another year of your life begins, realize that you will only be here on this earth for a little while longer. The reality can be summed up in the solemn statements: “Today in our bloom, Tomorrow in our tomb” or “Here today and gone tomorrow”.

Because your life is so brief, that stresses how important it is to give attention to your soul. The first thing that you should do in 2024 is make sure that it is well with your soul. Don’t wait another day or another hour, you have waited too long already. Get saved now while you still have the opportunity. The Apostle Paul clearly gave the answer to the question, ‘When should you be saved?’ when he stated: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation” (Second Corinthians 6:2).