An old hymn came to mind the other day, and as I listened to the words, I couldn’t help but be transported back in time. There I was in my grandpa’s church; everyone was there. Grandma was at the piano playing the song as only she could; Grandpa was standing on the platform singing away as the song leader waved his hand with the tempo of Fanny Crosby’s “To the Work.” My aunts and uncles and cousins were there, along with my own family. During the chorus I can hear the echo of grandp...

The Bible confronts us with the following provocation in James 4:14, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” This can be a discouraging, even depressing thought. A person’s life is like water, slowly boiling away under the heat of daily trials and monotonous tasks, and after all is said and done, there’s not much to show for it. The water is gone, and so is the mist of vapor that once gave evidence to it. Much of human existen...