Have you ever planted flowers? Why is it that a few weeks later you had to go back to the floral nursery to buy more? Well, it may be because you have a black thumb, but more likely it is because flowers have a very short life span.
It is this very point that Job had in mind when he illustrated life’s brevity with these multiple imageries: “Man decays like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten. Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue” (Job 13:28-14:2). David also pictured life “as a flower of the field” which “flourishes” and then “is gone” (Psa. 103:15-16).
The next time you see someone planting flowers in their front yard or walk through the garden department at the home improvement store, remember that life is but a brief moment compared to eternity and to live every moment you have for God’s glory.