Our Text for today is James 4:13-15
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
This passage reminds me of a story I heard decades ago. There was this young man who graduated from high school. After his ceremony, all his family was celebrating and congratulating him. His grandfather had a different approach.
His grandfather said, “You graduated high school, so what’s next?”
The young man said, “I’m going to college.”
Grandfather asked, “What’s next?”
“Well, he said, “I will get a degree in law.”
Again the grandfather said, “What’s next?
The boy replied, “Then I will be a lawyer.”
Grandad said, “What’s next?”
“Then I will set up a law practice.”
“What’s next?”
“Then I will become a judge?”
“What’s next?”
“Someday I hope to be appointed to the Supreme Court.”
“What’s next?”
Exasperated, the young man said, “Why do you ask ‘What’s next?” He said, “Grandad that is a life time appointment?”
The grandfather paused then asked, “What’s next?”
I love this old story because it remind us that we need to think about the day when all of this will end and then we have to ask “What’s next?”
It has been my solemn experience to be at the bedside of those I love and say good by to them. It has been my honor to say that all of them prepared their life for “What’s next?”
In all of our life plans we must keep that short question in our plans.
Lonnie Davis