James 4:13-17 “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
Text John 9:4 “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
In John 9:4 Jesus made a great statement about His earthly labor. Within that statement are three great principles concerning labor. We have looked at the occupation of labor, “I must work”, at the objective of labor, “the works of him that sent me” and we will now look at the opportunity of labor, “while it is day.” Being God, Jesus knew that He would not have long to accomplish all that His Father wanted Him to do. From the time He started His earthly ministry to His crucifixion, was about three and a half years. If Jesus was going to do God’s business He only had a brief season of opportunity to do it! Solomon said, “To every thing there is a season . . . A time to be born, and a time to die” (Eccl. 3:1-2). You know when you were born, but you don’t know when you’re going to die! Like our Lord, we have a season of opportunity to accomplish work. James illustrates this truth in our Scripture reading. Here we find a group of individuals talking about everything they are going to do tomorrow only to discover that there was no tomorrow, their season of opportunity is over. Listen to the prophetic words of Jesus, “the night cometh.” Aware that the night was upon him, Jesus said, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus said that He had completed, accomplished, and fulfilled, not just the work, but “the work which thou gavest me to do.” Will you be able to say the same?