The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it. Isaiah 40:7
Human life begins with the breath of God: “The Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” (Gen. 2:7). Your life began when God breathed life into you.
One day God will breathe on you again and your life in this world will end: “When you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust” (Psa. 104:29). God does this.
Think about it—we light one candle for every year of the birthday boy or girl’s life. Then we sing “Happy Birthday” and he or she blows out the candles! Those years are gone. You can never get them back.
One day God will blow out the last candle on your cake. This is true of every person—good or bad, religious or secular, Christian or Muslim, young or old, rich or poor. Life and death are never a matter of random chance.
For the person who loves and trusts Christ, this is a wonderful and comforting truth. But for the person who is resisting God, this is a sobering truth. If you are holding out on God, remember that God can blow on you at any time!
We are like candles, lit to burn for God’s glory for a short time, until he blows on us and the flame goes out. The best thing you can do with this life is to give yourself wholly to whatever God has for you. Offer this life back into the hands of the One who gives it and sustains it.
“Life and death are never a matter of random chance.” Do you find this wonderful and comforting? Or sobering? Why?
