Why Is Life Short
http://www.forestwander.com/
Heaven Coach attempts to provide bible answers for people seeking the truth about life. As always, you must decide if the answers are consistent with scripture. One way to do that is to diligently study the scriptures yourself. See if what Heaven Coach is suggesting is the truth. If it is the truth it will be consistent with all scripture. It will be consistent with God’s purpose. The scriptures provide God’s reason for creating humankind and do not vary from that theme. There was creation, there were rules, there was sin and then there was a path for humankind to be reconciled in Christ. That path covered many generations and brought Jesus to to be humankind’s redeemer. From the beginning, life has been about the soul and in the gospel there is hope for each person. Seldom since the first sin have many people aligned with the truth, but their actions are mostly self-serving. In Genesis, God regretted making man because the wickedness was great in the earth.
Genesis 6.5,6
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Because there were a few who were not wicked, he spared the earth for those few. The flood destroyed all other persons living and when it was over Noah and his family were returned to the dry land. God provided a sign, the rainbow as a covenant to humankind that He would never again destroy the world by water. We learn that God will destroy the world one day by fire as well as all of His physical creation. We know that the days pass quickly in our lives and all face death. At the present time about 160,000 people die each day. On the last day the end of all life on earth will cease, then if that were tomorrow it would be over 7.3 billion people. So, no matter how you view your life, it will be short. Apparently, it is comforting for some to believe that they will go out of existence when they die. It is our God-given right to believe what we wish. However, believing what we wish will change nothing in terms of what will really happen when we die. Also, upon our death our freedom to choose will be gone. Our freedom was for a reason, to accomplish something and that is why life is for relatively short period. There needed to be a period of time for people to make choices. So, on this page we will give you a good idea of why life is short.
Why Is Life Short?
People seldom agree on very much, but by observation, most understand life is very short. Young persons may not have this realization or care to understand why life is short. Age solves that problem, but younger persons can be admired for making the observation and caring to know. The earlier you have this awareness and begin to take life seriously the better your chances of succeeding in life.
Many believe that there is no reason or correct explanation for our existence and yet there is a very clear answer.
So, why is life short? Because life is a test and the test for each person has a beginning and an end, the length is your lifetime.
note: There are undoubtedly many skeptics and many who think they have found problems with the scriptures. You ought to take some time to verify your assumption, since so much is at stake. One common complaint would be that some people may not live long enough to have a valid test, or some people may have been effectively indoctrinated into other beliefs, or some people lived before the reconciliation in Christ and on and on. There are ways for people to find problems with God’s revelation. The truth is, GOD CAN HANDLE ALL OF THE CONCERNS people have and in many cases He provides those answers in scripture. It would be a terrible thing to be lost because you believed there was some flaw in God’s plan or even believe there is no God. God creates things by thinking them or speaking them into existence and even time was created by God. Thus for a person to think that God did less than a perfect job in His PURPOSE FOR HUMANKIND and HIS JUDGMENTS would be foolish. Instead, focus on doing God’s will as revealed in scripture.
Job, Solomon, Paul Live, Tested, Die – The Way Of Life
It is necessary for people have time to reveal themselves in terms of their character. Life presents many challenges and like Job, how will humankind respond to the challenges. The dating of the book of Job has been widely debated and it could even be the first book of the bible or during the time of Abraham. In any case it is very early and ultimately the date does not matter. The point is God in the book of Job is describing something for later generations to contemplate. Job is tested and indeed this is the pattern for all of humankind. The tests will be different, but in all cases there is God’s way OR men and women’s way. In Job’s case, there is terrible suffering, loss and mental anguish as those around him only worsen his situation and at the most devastating of times try to pull Job from his principles, from God.
Job suffered:
> First, his 1000 oxen and donkeys were stolen and some of his servants were killed
> Then, “the fire of God fell from heaven” and burned up all 7000 of his sheep, and more of his servants were killed
> Then, his 3000 camels were stolen, and even more of his servants were killed
> Following this the house in which Job’s 7 sons and 3 daughters were meeting was blown down by “a great wind” and they were all killed
> Finally, after all of this, Job was smitten from head to toe with painful boils which caused his skin to turn black and gave him a fever
Job 2.7,8
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with painful boils from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.
8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
So Job sits in the ashes in excruciating pain and three “friends” want him to abandon, renounce God.
The ordeal of Job lasted a period of time that is not revealed, but from what is written it was a long period – at least weeks, maybe even many months.
Throughout the scriptures, there were difficulties for those who follow God. Even Solomon, who would seem to have everything eventually failed God in disobedience and would write about his foolishness. He would say all is vanity and finally proclaim the whole duty of man was to fear God and keep His commandments. Paul would mention his trials in serving God in bringing the gospel message to the world.
2 Corinthians 11.23-28
23 Are they ministers of Christ?—I speak as a fool—I am more:in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—
28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.
You Life, Your Test and God’s Desire For Your Success
I do not know how difficult it will be for you to follow Christ except that there will be trials associated with such a commitment. Most of those who want to be associated with Christ also want to live in the world. Jesus said that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword and it could separate those who follow Him from their friends and family. This is a highly undesirable thing for one who follows God, but it is a possible consequence. This is a possibility simply because the world is not aligned with God, but even abhor God largely because of His rules. It takes time for some people to realize the seriousness of life and the exacting nature of the truth as found in God’s word. God’s desire is that none should perish (miss out on heaven), consequently, He is longsuffering.
2 Peter 3.8,9
8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Your lifetime, albeit short is long enough to give the one who loves the truth the time to find it, obey it and live it. The verses above also reveal that TIME has no bearing on God and is essentially meaningless, however time does fulfill God’s purpose for beginning and ending creation. Time provides each person with a lifetime of forward moving events. Humankind knows that their life’s will end and know it can happen at any moment and realize there is an upper limit somewhere about 100 years. Those who reach their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and above are keenly aware of their pending death. Interestingly, most by those ages believe they have constructed in there minds some scenario regarding the afterlife and are not enthusiastically searching for truth. These older people typically accept and regret life’s brevity and are amazed that their life is passing so quickly.
Death Facts Considered
Below is a death by age chart showing the percentage of the population for each age group. For instance in the group 45-49 years of age they represent about 6.5% of the world’s population and for that same age group 3.5% of the deaths are attributed (in the designated period). The age group 80 to 84 represents about 1% of the population and about 10% of the deaths for this period. The age group between 0 and 29 years of age represent about 40% of population and about 19% of the deaths occur in this age range. This is largely due to infant mortality. If you remove the 0-4 year age group the 5-29 age group (about 31% of the population) only represent 5% of the mortality for the period. Obviously, no one knows how short their life will be, but it is not just the elderly, there is a distribution of deaths among all age groups. There were 126,438 accidental deaths in 2011 in the United States and these are generally not age dependent as younger people take more risks and older people fall more often, but his includes unintentional water related drownings, falls, motor vehicles and poisoning deaths. Life is short and of unknown length for each person and as a result each person needs to be very serious about determining life’s purpose and living accordingly.
It Is You Versus Sin
The times we live in are really the same as the times past. That is, in terms of what matters in life. There are sins as God defines them, there are desires for the earthly things one can possess, there are cruelties and mean-spirited actions between humankind and the list is long, but not different from the past. There are today as in the past few who love the truth. God makes a love of the truth essential for finding the truth.
2 Thessalonians 2.10-12
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God destroyed the wickedness in the days of Noah sparing only eight souls. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed due to their wickedness and the Jewish nation and the records of their genealogies were destroyed when Jerusalem was crushed by the Romans in 70 AD. The world of today rejects God’s commandments and live the way they wish and support sin even if they do not participate in it.
God’s wrath is always the result of disobedience. Although, we mentioned God’s judgments against large groups, life is about individuals and the battle between each person and sin. Life in the end is about the soul and nothing else. What you do during your lifetime, that is during the time the “true you” is captured within a physical body is what really counts for your eternity.
The World Offers Solutions That People Love
Today, as so often in the past the world lives in darkness, while believing it is an age of great enlightenment. The extent of the deceit is beyond belief. This deceit because of its desirability is easily and personally embraced. Yes, ages of lies in almost everything are in the background. The often cunningly devised deceit is so deep that uncovering the truth is exceedingly difficult and only accomplished by those that love the truth. The murdering of babies, the illicit sexual activity, the use of intoxicants that provide relief for the daily difficulties are all lauded as wonderful things. A world without God makes all the evil acceptable since it is believed when life ends so does existence. It is easy to justify anything in such a world. If there is no God, it would be impossible to argue successfully against the open sins of our societies. Again, life is about the soul, about the next life and God has made the rules. Sins are defined by God, consequences are defined by God and the wonder of an eternity is defined by God and although you can escape the reality of these things while you are alive, nonetheless your personal end time is coming and the judgment.
Hebrews 9.27,28
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
The average person knows so little about life’s meaning that they will end their life in total ignorance of God. Each person desperately needs the truth from God, while they have time to take advantage of it. Indeed, God points to how short life is by comparing life to a vapor.
James 4.14
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.
One might say, I know that life is short by observation. As mentioned, over 160,000 people die each day. There is a distribution of death across ages and we just never know if are going to have tomorrow or even finish out this day. Why is God pointing this out life’s shortness? Some of the reasons, based on understanding God (as He has revealed Himself) could be:
> For awareness, even in our youth there is no guarantee of tomorrow
> Today is the day of salvation ….. you need to act while you have the opportunity
> To take life very seriously
> To make the most of each day
> To avoid going aimlessly through life as described in James
James 4.13-16
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.”
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
The contrast between the supposed “daily important things in life” versus “if the Lord wills” is the difference between living for self, which in the end is temporary and of no value and living for God, which provides an “exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The things God does in relation to humankind are all related to His purpose for you. The word of God is focused, God is focused on providing each person the opportunity to succeed as a result of what He did in Jesus. God is not slack in warning humankind to redeem the time, because the days are evil. They are evil if you do not make the best use of your time in seeking, obeying and living the truth.
Ephesians 5.15-17
15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
You may not see the days are evil now, but if you are lost the days you wasted on temporary things will seem exceedingly evil. Redeem the time, while you have your lifetime.
Follow What Seems Right or Follow God
The beliefs that people hold about life’s purpose and about God are just a million miles from the truth and that includes the belief’s held by over 99% of the religions. The truth is so different, so incredibly easy to understand and fits together so perfectly that indeed to miss out on it is to fail in life. How surprising, how amazing is the truth from God. It has been carefully, accurately delivered to humankind in God’s word and yet most people waste their entire life’s in the pursuit of meaningless endeavors, that is of temporary value.
You can point to how kind and considerate you are, yet if you live disregarding the possibility of God and never realize your claimed goodness is no more than pride, or false humility then you will be disappointed, devastated following your death. It is God who deserves the glory and you can understand why, if you wish.
The world is eventually devastating to every person who operates by WHAT THEY SEE, by their feelings, by what seems right to them. Oh, what a blessing it is understand that the things seen are temporary and coveting and/or possessing them leaves you with nothing. Oh, to understand that the things not seen are eternal and place you on the road to heaven – one of the unseen things.
Most of scripture is talking about spiritual things and people and the religions of humankind live in the physical. God provides humankind with distinctions in the verses below that ought to be very meaningful to every person. The letter is from Paul to the church at Corinth and they understood it as the truth. Others, just smile and say ridiculous. Hopefully you are one seeking truth and thus you can gain a great understanding about your short life from these verses.
2 Corinthians 4.16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
The above verses point to the shortness of life as day by day a man or a woman is getting closer to the end, but for the children of God (Galatians 3,26-29) they are being renewed (spiritually) day by day. Then God points to heaven in verse 17 by encouraging His children to persevere what is relatively speaking a light affliction. God tells His children to compare the trials of life to the exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Finally, in the third distinction, God gives us the value of all things physical by saying the are temporary. It is these temporary things that the world seeks to possess – we fail to make the distinction that they are temporary. The amazing reality is the thing that seems so unreal to the world, namely the unseen things have all the value. God, Heaven, sin forgiven, our life of good choices versus seeking all the “seen” things we can possess are the unseen things, the eternal things. Just as in Matthew, Jesus told His disciples to lay up for themselves treasures in heaven, since where your treasures are there also is your heart.
Matthew 6.19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The scriptures are “disliked” because they require many things and restrict other things and it amounts to giving your life for Christ. Earthly treasures, seen things are temporary and they are gone when life ends. Place your heart on unseen things and follow God’s way, all the way to heaven.
In Conclusion
So, why is life short? We are talking about time, which God created. It was created as part of God’s purpose to allow each person their lifetime to make decisions. Humankind tries to understand creation and always talks in terms of time – how long it took for various processes to create what we see and even how long it took for life to occur. Time has no control over God, but God created time for His purpose. Thus, for this reason alone humankind cannot understand our existence or the existence of anything. It is truly folly, all of the wondering of science in the area of the existence of the universe, in the existence of life. God simply did what He said in terms of creation and it does not fit into some box that humankind can understand. God fooled us someone might say, but no since life is NOT about understanding how this all happened. You can understand that the existence of anything and everything was accomplished by that which cannot be seen.
Romans 1.18-20
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
God’s emphasis is on recognizing Him, and His wrath is against those who reject Him for the ideas of humankind. In this regard, there are no excuses and so falling into the belief system of the current science, which rejects God is an eternal mistake. Make the best use of the day, make the best use of the time you have and reject the theories of humankind whether in science or in religion or whatever is false. It is amazing that simply by knowing the truth, you can reject all the inventions of humankind that can harm your final success. In other words, you need not know about the big bang theory or the theory of organic evolution, you need not know about all the worlds religions, just know the truth. In fact knowing God’s word and following it will be the very best use of your time – because indeed your time is short.
God is the God of the bible and the only God to ever exist. Your correct understanding of God and life are totally based on that revelation. What is the most maligned thing in the world? It is the bible and laughed at by those who reject God and mishandled by those who say they are religious. Life is short because we are created beings in a time existence and no matter how long we live, it will seem short – simply because our live will end. Everyday of our bodily existence, we draw closer to our end.
Paul knew where his faithfulness to God would end. For Paul death provided no sting and in fact he wrote in Philippians:
Philippians 1.21-24
21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.
23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
Paul’s faithfulness would end well, as He says, “to depart and be with Christ” which was better for Him, but he knew staying and helping the Philippian saints was more needful. Life is about the time we have to do well and it does matter how long as a saint you have been in the kingdom (the spiritual church), but what you do with the time you are there.
It is interesting, that although Christ was revealing to Paul things that would be recorded (Galatians 1.12) that he was fully aware that he could fall and be lost and he had to work at disciplining himself, that is avoid sin and DO the will of God.
1 Corinthians 9.27
27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
Almost every person would like to GO BACK IN TIME and do something different, hopefully to avoid a serious mistake. God has allowed time to go in only one direction and thus going back in time is not possible. Everything we do takes time, it is the most valuable thing we have, and mysterious in its duration for each person. In the end, life will be looked at as exceedingly short because the next life has no time, just never ends. We describe our post-physical life as eternity, because when we leave a time existence it is difficult to describe “forever.” In terms we can understand, this life is very short, albeit a vapor compared to eternity because that is by God’s design. The “short” time we have is sufficient for us to make the decisions that will allow God to determine our final fate. God even allows mistakes, sins and a way for our escape in the gospel message during our lifetime.
6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.
Many believe that there is no reason or correct explanation for our existence and yet there is a very clear answer.
So, why is life short? Because life is a test and the test for each person has a beginning and an end, the length is your lifetime.
note: There are undoubtedly many skeptics and many who think they have found problems with the scriptures. You ought to take some time to verify your assumption, since so much is at stake. One common complaint would be that some people may not live long enough to have a valid test, or some people may have been effectively indoctrinated into other beliefs, or some people lived before the reconciliation in Christ and on and on. There are ways for people to find problems with God’s revelation. The truth is, GOD CAN HANDLE ALL OF THE CONCERNS people have and in many cases He provides those answers in scripture. It would be a terrible thing to be lost because you believed there was some flaw in God’s plan or even believe there is no God. God creates things by thinking them or speaking them into existence and even time was created by God. Thus for a person to think that God did less than a perfect job in His PURPOSE FOR HUMANKIND and HIS JUDGMENTS would be foolish. Instead, focus on doing God’s will as revealed in scripture.
Job suffered:
> First, his 1000 oxen and donkeys were stolen and some of his servants were killed
> Then, “the fire of God fell from heaven” and burned up all 7000 of his sheep, and more of his servants were killed
> Then, his 3000 camels were stolen, and even more of his servants were killed
> Following this the house in which Job’s 7 sons and 3 daughters were meeting was blown down by “a great wind” and they were all killed
> Finally, after all of this, Job was smitten from head to toe with painful boils which caused his skin to turn black and gave him a fever
8 And he took for himself a potsherd with which to scrape himself while he sat in the midst of the ashes.
24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—
28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
God’s wrath is always the result of disobedience. Although, we mentioned God’s judgments against large groups, life is about individuals and the battle between each person and sin. Life in the end is about the soul and nothing else. What you do during your lifetime, that is during the time the “true you” is captured within a physical body is what really counts for your eternity.
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
> For awareness, even in our youth there is no guarantee of tomorrow
> Today is the day of salvation ….. you need to act while you have the opportunity
> To take life very seriously
> To make the most of each day
> To avoid going aimlessly through life as described in James
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.”
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
You can point to how kind and considerate you are, yet if you live disregarding the possibility of God and never realize your claimed goodness is no more than pride, or false humility then you will be disappointed, devastated following your death. It is God who deserves the glory and you can understand why, if you wish.
The world is eventually devastating to every person who operates by WHAT THEY SEE, by their feelings, by what seems right to them. Oh, what a blessing it is understand that the things seen are temporary and coveting and/or possessing them leaves you with nothing. Oh, to understand that the things not seen are eternal and place you on the road to heaven – one of the unseen things.
Most of scripture is talking about spiritual things and people and the religions of humankind live in the physical. God provides humankind with distinctions in the verses below that ought to be very meaningful to every person. The letter is from Paul to the church at Corinth and they understood it as the truth. Others, just smile and say ridiculous. Hopefully you are one seeking truth and thus you can gain a great understanding about your short life from these verses.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The scriptures are “disliked” because they require many things and restrict other things and it amounts to giving your life for Christ. Earthly treasures, seen things are temporary and they are gone when life ends. Place your heart on unseen things and follow God’s way, all the way to heaven.
19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
God’s emphasis is on recognizing Him, and His wrath is against those who reject Him for the ideas of humankind. In this regard, there are no excuses and so falling into the belief system of the current science, which rejects God is an eternal mistake. Make the best use of the day, make the best use of the time you have and reject the theories of humankind whether in science or in religion or whatever is false. It is amazing that simply by knowing the truth, you can reject all the inventions of humankind that can harm your final success. In other words, you need not know about the big bang theory or the theory of organic evolution, you need not know about all the worlds religions, just know the truth. In fact knowing God’s word and following it will be the very best use of your time – because indeed your time is short.
Paul knew where his faithfulness to God would end. For Paul death provided no sting and in fact he wrote in Philippians:
22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.
23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
It is interesting, that although Christ was revealing to Paul things that would be recorded (Galatians 1.12) that he was fully aware that he could fall and be lost and he had to work at disciplining himself, that is avoid sin and DO the will of God.
Almost every person would like to GO BACK IN TIME and do something different, hopefully to avoid a serious mistake. God has allowed time to go in only one direction and thus going back in time is not possible. Everything we do takes time, it is the most valuable thing we have, and mysterious in its duration for each person. In the end, life will be looked at as exceedingly short because the next life has no time, just never ends. We describe our post-physical life as eternity, because when we leave a time existence it is difficult to describe “forever.” In terms we can understand, this life is very short, albeit a vapor compared to eternity because that is by God’s design. The “short” time we have is sufficient for us to make the decisions that will allow God to determine our final fate. God even allows mistakes, sins and a way for our escape in the gospel message during our lifetime.
