It is at such a painful point after losing such a beloved and noble soul, Rose Kihoro, that we need to go back and meet ourselves at the crossroads of life, to re-examine the meaning and purpose of our fast vanishing lives.
When we consider our brief lives in this world, it is important to embrace who we are right now, to celebrate our earthly existence, for that is all we have and to cherish the gift of others whose lives intersect with our own.
Jewish thoughts always paint this world as a cruise door to the world to come (olam haba). This world is not an end in itself; it's a doorway to paradise. Therefore, how one lives their life in this world tends to have either a positive or negative impact in the afterlife.
We are on a journey that leads to what is eternally true and enduring. The grass fades, the flower fades but the word of our God will stand forever (Isa. 40:8). In a constantly changing world, God is the only abiding reality and He has designed it that way to cause men's hearts to search for him.
Isaiah 40:6 - All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field.
Such is our condition in this world. The flesh fades because the breath of the Lord blows on it (Isa. 40:7). God himself has ordained human life to be like vapor.
James 4:14 - For what is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
To live while knowing that your life is a vapor is different than just living. All things in this world are changing, they exist for a while and ultimately pass away. You have got to hold on to what will hold for eternity. Savor what matters.
Psalms 144:4 - Man is like a breath. His days are like a shadow that passes away.
Time is precious. Yet, we are fragile. Life is short but eternity is endless. Live like every second counts. Be a faithful steward of the breath God has given you. Remember Paul’s words, do not forget to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16) because it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy (1 Corinthians 4:2), His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of Elohim with me” (1 Corinthians 15:10).
So we pray like King David prayed, for he saw how fleeting and frail his life was.
Psalms 39:4-5 - LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life is. You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath.
Psalms 90:12 - So teach us to count our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Adonai help us realize how weak, frail and short our lives are. May He help us to live in wisdom by accepting how fleeting our lives are. May He help us realize that sin and judgment are caused by our disobedience. Yet, He who wounds us still heals us. Though he slay me, I will trust Him (Job 13:15). For apart from him we can do nothing (John 15:5), for in Him, we live move and have our being (Acts 17:23).
The moment we fail to ask the important questions of life, “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” “What can I do?” “Where am I going?” is to become unfeeling and to abandon the essential existential questions that make life worth living. Apathy about such matters is very dangerous. It is to give up the mission to find meaning, hope and a sense of destiny. We should always go through the outward aspects of life while at the same time making inner tractions with it.
Only by living in the shadow of Elohim, can we get rid of these uncertainties and worries of this fallen world. Our hands are tied. Our destiny is not in our hands. We are not the authors of our destiny. The solution is to let go of our mastery and trust Him only.
fleetinglife.jpeg