Sitting in church one day, my eyes wandered from the passage being read and landed instead on James 4 v 14:
“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”*
At first this struck me as a little harsh. However, once I’d come to terms with the fact that my Busy Important Life was being likened to something so flimsy and transitory, I had to admit that yes, in the grand scheme of things, my life really is just a passing mist. And if that’s the case, all that remains is to decide what kind of mist I want to be.
Will I be the dense foggy kind that blinds others to all but itself, taking over, becoming everything; causing people to stumble?
Or can I be the cool refreshing mist that enhances a view? The kind that draws people’s attention to all the beauty God has given, helping them see things in new ways. The soft fuzzy mist that promises sunshine to follow.
Life is full and real and vital... but it goes quickly. The most important question is not how I will appear during this brief time on earth, but whether my presence can change things for the better. Will I draw attention to the goodness around me and to God’s beauty, or only to myself?
If my life is but mist, let it be the right kind.
*New International Version