When James asked the question in this text there was a point towards which he was driving. His letter deals with people where were claiming to be Christians, but who perhaps were not. It deals with people whose mouths claimed faith, but whose lives disagreed. It deals with people who prayed, but they prayed TO themselves and for themselves. It deals with the rich man who planned to become richer. It deals with practical atheists. But what is your life? Even the life of the rich and powerful is “as a vapor, that appeareth for little time and then vanisheth away.”
What is man compared to the beasts of the earth? Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 – “I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?” Physically speaking, in some ways we are similar to the animals. Our bodies die in same way a snake, shark, snail, or even a skunk might die. Unburied, or not, our dead bodies rot and stink once they are lifeless. Our beauty would be gone in less than a week. Our bodies behave in much the same way that animals might behave. Dogs and cats can suffer from arthritis, just like we can. They can be blind and deaf, just like us. If it was not for our spiritual nature, humans would be comparable to Hammas Alabamas.
In relation to the angels of God, the Bible says that we are distinctly inferior. They have more power in the blink of their eyes and the strongest muscle of man. We must thank the Lord that they are obedient to their Master. In relation to that special angel, Lucifer, we have an even more special position. Not only are we inferior, but we stand as moving targets. Today we are as clay pigeons to the skeet shooter. The devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking you, whom he may devour..
Once again ask yourself, what is your life? Vapor, animal, prey, worthless hunk of molded mud. But, praise God, you are also an object of God’s love and grace.
I ran across an old saying, the background of which I am totally ignorant. It which goes like this: Your life is nothing unless you have planted a tree, written a book, raised the son, and built an house. It’s this old adage that I would like to take and mold into the points of the message. To some long-dead philosopher this is what life is all about. But, let’s see if these don’t have some meaning in the Christian life as well.
One of the four basic experiences of life is to plant a tree.
This probably doesn’t mean anything you who’ve spent your whole lives in this part of world. But to those people whose lives are spent in the desert or on the open plains, this is important. When I was 10-years-old and in the fourth grade, living in Omaha, Nebraska, we celebrated Arbor Day. Our whole class went out to the schoolyard, and took turns digging a hole in the grass. Eventually the hole was deep enough, and we took a small tree which the teacher gotten for us. Together we lovingly planted it in that hole. We put in some fertilizer; we put the dirt back; we put on some water, and we felt good about ourselves.
What was that old philosopher thinking about when he said what he said? What does planting a tree accomplish besides blocking the view of your neighbor. A tree stands as a witness. It can be beautiful thing, providing shade and therefore comfort. Of course there is the fruit. A tree works toward soil conservation; it can produce a windbreak. It can make a home a for any number of creatures. And then we come to the lumber – a renewable resource. In what ways should a Christian life be like planting a tree or being a tree? How about beauty? Are you familiar with Joyce Kilmer’s poetry. “I think that I shall never see anything quite as lovely as a tree.” O, but there is something more beautiful – There is the beauty of the saint walking in the light of God. Sin is the epitome of ugliness – spiritually and emotionally. Listen to Isaiah 1:6: “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: They have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.” But with the grace of God there’s a facelift job. Psalm 149:4 – “For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation.” Ezekiel 16:4 – “And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty, For it was perfect through my comeliness, which I put upon thee, saith the Lord God. “ Not just ladies, but everyone should listen to I Peter 3:3 and 4 – “Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting of the hair, the wearing of gold, or putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, Even the ornament of the meek and quiet spirit, Which is in the sight of God of great price.” The key to great beauty is the ministry of the Lord in a person’s heart and life.
You should be a tree of spiritual beauty and comforting shade too. What sort of impression do you leave with people? To Christian people, to lost people?. A beautiful shade tree on a hot afternoon, can be like an oasis in the desert. Is your life refreshing to people or are you the kind of person that wearies everyone out? Isaiah 61:1-3 – “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”
Probably the big thing about trees is that they are supposed to produce fruit. “Blessed is the man walketh not in the council the ungodly, nor standeth of the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever to doeth shall prosper.” God has left us in this world be fruitful for him. To bear the fruit of the spirit: Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness. And the teaching of the scripture is that if we do not bear fruit we should be cut down – Luke 13 6. And this takes his back to the theme of James – “A man may say that he hath faith without work, but can (that) faith save him?”
The second suggestion was to write a book.
What is there in writing that our teachers used to love so much? Why did they make us write and write and write? What did it accomplish? It taught us to express ourselves.
Okay, and in what ways can a Christian life be like a book? Again, we should be a book as in the expression of the purpose of God. In the case of the Christian, the purpose of the Lord is seen first in salvation. But it must be remembered that salvation is not primarily about us. Romans 8:29 – “For whom he did foreknow, them did He also predestined a to be conformed to the image of his son.” The purpose of God in us is to display his grace. To create servants who will love Him and glorify His Name. The problem is that we often like to write our own books rather than the Lord’s. What kind of publication is your life? The lives of some people remind me of an underground newspaper. Others are critical in technical, nitpicking books, fault finding books – critiques. Some lives are written for the sole purpose of entertainment, trying to attract attention to themselves. Some are pure fiction, not Christian, the whole thing made up. The Christian ought to be God’s book, glorifying the Lord and helpful to everyone else.
Our third suggestion for a full life was to have the son.
Doesn’t this remind us of the great commission? The Christian hasn’t really lived much of the Christian life until he has had a spiritual child. Some of you parents can remember the impact your first baby had on you personally or as a couple. Many times the birth of a child becomes our joy and crown. It is no coincidence that Paul thought so highly of his friends in Christ; his spiritual children.
If you have never brought anyone to Jesus Christ, your life is missing one of the great blessings. Having spiritual children brings joy because we know that it is one of the greatest of all possible services. It glories the Lord and there is no way to calculate the blessing that it shall be to that soul It brings us joy because it means that we are growing in likeness to Christ. It brings great joy because we can think of the enrichment of Heaven, knowing that this new “child” off ours will be there with us.
There was one more suggestion for a great life: to build a house.
A house is part of the estate of a person; something which he can leave to his children. But what sort of things are you leaving for your children in your life? What is your testimony and silent guidance for your children? Have you ever destroyed a Sunday sermon by attacking the preacher or another Christian on way home from church? Do you teach your children to love the Lord of God, by demonstrating your own love? What sort of house are you building for your descendants?
And what about the church – the house of God? As the Bible says, each member of the Lord’s church, contributes to the whole. Am I making the church stronger or weaker? Am I a piece of solid material, or am I so riddled with decay that I am a detriment to the next piece of the Lord’s construction?
The man said that a full life comes when we build a house I have known a couple of people who built their own homes, in some cases with very little help. It would be an adventure for me to try something like that. I’d have to have help. And the kind to which our philosopher was referring demands even more help. “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”
What is your life? How full or how empty has it been so far? Plant a tree, have a spiritual son, write a book and build a house. If we can do even one or two of these things well, I’d say that our lives have been worth while.