In this life, you only get so many opportunities. You must take advantage of them while you can.”
–Bobby Cavazos (The Cowboy From the Wild Horse Desert)
“Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.”
–Colossians 4:5 (NLT)
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There was a very good movie made several years ago: How the West Was Won. Take time to watch it if you have not done so. The story is of the Prescott family as they make their way west, facing the challenges and obstacles to endure the making of this great country.
Early in the movie there is a camp scene of a family who have joined the Prescotts. While they are going about camp chores and supper was being prepared, a lone trapper, Linus Rawlins (Jimmy Stewart) arrived in his canoe.
The families invited him to join them for supper, which he did and they sat around telling stories. Rawlins, the trapper, finally went off to his bedroll and after he left, Mr. Prescott remarked, pointing toward the fire. “These mountain men…they’re sorta like a wisp-of-smoke.”
James tells us the same thing about our lives. “Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen in your life tomorrow. [What is secure in your life?] You are merely a vapor [like a puff of smoke or a wisp of steam from a cooking pot] that is visible for a little while and then vanishes [into thin air].” (4:14, AMP)
This is true in the light of eternity. What is your small segment of life like in compared to the eons of eternity? A speck, a mist, a wisp of smoke. The other aspect is that because our lives are so short in comparison, it is important to recognize the responsibility we have to the Almighty for this short time. We must make the most of every minute to live for Him. Man is like a wisp of smoke in regards to the Lord, but what we do in that time will affect us through eternity.