He continues to focus on the unpredictable nature of life and its end. Man’s diligent effort can do nothing to secure the goal which he aims at, for unexpected obstacles arise to block his way and calamity awaits him around the corner which he does not predict or plan for.
What can we learn from this uncertain situation? That to drift through life as if it is without danger, without consequences, is foolhardy. If an insurance company thinks you are a high risk, it puts up the premium to protect itself. If life is so uncertain, then we ought to redouble our efforts to find out why we are here, and how we can prepare for that evil time which might ensnare us. God has given us ample warning of our need to seek him. The instability of life is another argument that reaches the dimmest mind, and tells us how urgently we need to seek him.
The unstated contrast is drawn with the life of certainty that the believer has in Christ. While the unbeliever is without hope and without God in the world, the believer has an anchor for the soul, both sure and steadfast. He has made provision for the worst of possibilities that can occur in life. He has overcome its uncertainty and even the last enemy, death itself, has no fear for him, because death is swallowed up in victory. Why then does the unbeliever consign himself to such a hopeless existence when the promises of God beckon us to a life of victory and then eternal joy in God’s presence? By faith the Christian overcomes sickness, tragedy, aging, weakness, and death itself. Accordingly Christ says, ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.’