Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.… What is meant by "making the most of life"? The answer may be given in four distinct yet related propositions. I. THE WISE RECKONING OF LIFE IN ITS END, AIMS, LIMITATIONS, AND POSSIBILITIES. Life is a serious and tremendous reality; life is short at best; life is freighted with infinite possibilities of good and evil; life is a responsible trust of infinite solemnity and importance. To enter upon such a life and spend its precious years, and part with its priceless opportunities, without due consideration, with no serious thought of the future — the end, the obligations and the final issues of life — is to act the part of a fool and a wanton sinner. II. THE RIGHT CHOICE OF MEANS FOR THE SECURING OF LIFE'S GREAT END. Life is a rational, fearful trust, which God has put into our hands, and He will hold us strictly responsible for the use and outcome of .it. On the right choice of means and their wise and faithful application will depend mainly the tone, the character, the fruit, and the final outcome of life itself. III. A JEALOUS HUSBANDING OF ALL THE RESOURCES AT OUR COMMAND, IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH LIFE'S END AND MISSION. IV. THE UTMOST OUTLAY OF WILL AND ENERGY AND EFFORT TO GET THE BEST POSSIBLE RESULTS OUT OF THIS BRIEF PERIOD OF PROBATIONARY EXISTENCE. The present is the seedtime of an eternal existence. Brief as this life is it affords the only chance of heaven. Our days are "numbered" from the start — enough, but not one too many, for the work given us to do. We must up and haste. (J. M. Sherwood, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. |
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