The Children Know....
Like myself, you have undoubtedly watched children building sand castles on the beach. They play, giggle, and build where the sand is wet, which is also within reach of high tide. They are so intent about their building that one would think it gave meaning to their little lives.

Then a big wave starts to close in! But the kids don't panic. They do the strangest things. They jump to their feet, scream with excitement, and watch the waves wash away their creation. There is no panic. No sadness. No bitterness. Even children know the inevitable end of sandcastles. They are neither surprised nor angry over their loss.

You and I should be so wise. The stuff of this world is about as permanent as sandcastles on a beach. Yet we get so caught up in it, defensive of it and depressed over the loss of it. God didn't create you to be famous, get rich, live in the biggest house, or drive the longest car. In fact, those are the Devil's invention. They may not be wrong in themselves but so many lose their souls getting them.

God created you for His glory. For righteousness. For love. For good works. We are not even created for this kind of world. Our destiny is not bound up in physical things, but spiritual. So living to be a hundred years old is far less important than living the will of God, even if it is for a short time. Beautifying our bodies has little importance when compared with purifying our souls.

Everything about this life is transient. The incoming wave of mortality is going to sweep it all away. Like sandcastles on the beach, nothing we can do in this world will survive. Even our children will follow after us into eternity. Only the intangibles that we send ahead of us into eternity will escape corruption.

What would the loss of your fiances do to you? What would the loss of your house by fire, flood, earthquake, or mudslide do to you? What if a strange pain sends you to the doctor and you learn that you have but a short time to live? These are real events that happen to "others" all the time. We are all vulnerable, mortal. Everything about our existence is like a sandcastle on the beach. Life is God's gift. Revel in it, trust Him to see you through it. Like the children, enjoy the sandcastles, but remember that is all they are. The wave is coming.