Saturday, July 18, 2009

113 Year Old Vapor

World’s Oldest Man in the World Died Saturday The headlines read that the world’s oldest man died on Saturday, July 18, 2009. Naturally there are a number of reasons that we should certainly take note of this monumental event and person. It seems that Henry Allingham lived to be 113 years old. He was honored as a veteran of WWW I and a member of the Royal Air Force. The news reported that he used his last years to remind people of the sacrifices of human lives that were killed in what is called “the great war.” He is lauded as a great and last spokesman for a terrible war. Let’s however, keep this event in perspective. Admittedly 113 years is a very long time compared to the average life span of human beings, we must keep in mind that as God sees it, it is still a vapor. In comparison to eternity, 1000 or 10,000 years from now, 113 years will seem like a vapor. Mr. Alllingham’s long life is now over. What did he accomplish for eternity? Did he learn to number his days? Did he obtain a heart of wisdom? We certainly do not know, nor am I in any position to make a judgment. For the record, that is not my intent. We all need to celebrate his life and accomplishments, particularly as a veteran who fought to preserve freedom and to save the lives of countless other human beings. Yet at the same time, we need to be reminded once again, that our life is like a mist. Like a mist we appear for a very short time on this earth and then like a mist our life vanishes.
Whether it be 1, 10, 20, 54, 70, 80, 92, or 113 years, in comparison to eternity, our life is a mist. Remember, ask God to teach you to number your days, not in how many you are going to have, but in realizing the shortness and brevity of our life so that we may be given a heart of wisdom by God.

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