Tag: India

As a Vapor Vanishes: Reflecting on the Brevity of Life

The tragedy of Fauja Singh’s passing should stir us, not just with grief, but with resolve. Not everyone will run marathons. But all of us are race runners.

Brent Pollard

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” (James 4.14)

At 114, Fauja Singh had outrun time itself—until time caught up with him on a quiet village road.

The world mourned the tragic death of Fauja Singh, the legendary marathon runner from Punjab, India. At 114 years old, he was hit and killed by a vehicle while walking in his village. Known as the “Turbaned Tornado,” he started running in his late 80s, broke age-related barriers, and inspired people worldwide. His sudden and heartbreaking passing reminds us painfully that life is uncertain. (Singh, 2025)

Even the most lively and resolute spirit cannot escape the limited nature of time.

Scripture speaks with sobering clarity about the fragility of life. “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away” (Psalm 90.10). This psalm of Moses captures both time’s swift passage and life’s inevitable end. Even for someone like Fauja Singh, who surpassed expectations by living over 110 years, the outcome remains the same. “…it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” (Hebrews 9.27).

Life’s Fleeting Nature

King David wrote, “Man is like a mere breath; his days are like a passing shadow.” (Psalm 144.4). Job adds, “Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain” (Job 14.1–2). These are not ornamental flourishes for funerals; they are divine truths designed to ground the living.

Even in Isaiah’s reflective sorrow, we read, “Like a shepherd’s tent my dwelling is pulled up and removed from me; as a weaver I rolled up my life. He cuts me off from the loom; from day until night You make an end of me.” (Isaiah 38.12). Scripture layers these images deliberately—vapor that dissipates, flowers that wither, shadows that fade. Each metaphor reinforces the same sobering truth: nothing in this life endures.

The Illusion of Control

The book of James highlights our assumption. We often speak confidently about “tomorrow,” make arrangements for profit and travel, and forget that we have no control over even a single heartbeat. James doesn’t forbid us from planning, but advises us to include God in our plans. “Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that’” (James 4.15).

Our culture idolizes productivity and mastery of time, filling calendars, chasing deadlines, and marking anniversaries as if we can control time. But a single accident on a quiet village road can shatter that illusion.

We are not the masters of our fate. We are the stewards of fleeting days.

A Call to Wisdom

What, then, shall we do with this fleeting existence? Moses offers a simple but profound prayer: “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90.12). This is not a morbid obsession with death; rather, it is a prudent recognition of it.

A devoted child of God lives each day with eternity in mind. As the Hebrew writer reminds us, judgment comes after death (Hebrews 9.27). There is no second race or alternative path. Whether we die at 14 or 114, the race concludes for everyone—and ultimately, the finish line that truly counts appears.

For those in Christ, that finish line is not fearful. The apostle Paul, nearing his end, wrote with confidence, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4.7). We are not guaranteed a long race, but it must be a faithful one.

Redeeming the Time

The tragedy of Fauja Singh’s passing should stir us, not just with grief, but with resolve. Not everyone will run marathons. But all of us are race runners. The Hebrew writer exhorts us to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and…run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12.1).

This life—delicate and brief as it is—is a gift. It’s not meant for self-indulgence but for obedience. It’s not for procrastination but for preparation. If today is all we have, let it be a day that honors God.

Conclusion

Like the marathons he ran for decades, Singh’s life had a clear beginning, a long middle filled with purpose, and an end that came suddenly. The race is over, but the legacy of how he ran remains. He reminds us that neither extraordinary strength nor advanced age can prevent the end of life. For everyone, death is certain—sometimes sudden, sometimes anticipated, but always unavoidable.

The vapor will vanish. But until then, let us live wisely, walk humbly, and prepare fervently for what lies ahead.

“For what is your life?” (James 4.14 KJV)

This is a question worth asking before our last breath answers it.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from the NASB® (New American Standard Bible®, 1995 Updated Edition). Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Reference list:

Singh, I. P. (2025, July 15). At 114, oldest marathon runner Fauja Singh killed in road accident. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/at-114-oldest-marathon-runner-fauja-singh-killed-in-road-accident/articleshow/122460660.cms

Rays On Gloomy Days

Tuesday’s Column: Dale Mail

For centuries, the locals of Meghalaya, India, have manipulated the roots of rubber trees to grow their natural bridges. Stretching over ditches and streams these natural structures will far outlast the man-made metal or wooden bridges that rot and decay in just a few years. The rubber-roots are self-strengthening and become more substantial over time by increasing in thickness. 

Meghalaya also happens to be the rainiest place on earth, receiving 467 inches of rainfall a year. Just to put that in perspective, New York will typically get around 60 inches a year. The men and women who work outdoors wear a sort of full body-umbrella made of bamboo and banana leaves.

One visiting reporter stopped a butcher who was carrying a basket of freshly-cut meat up a steep flight of stairs. He was asked if it was hard to live in a place with so much rain. The 26 year old man replied, “we can’t think about that. Here there’s always rain but we have to work, so it’s no good wondering about it.”

There are many people who tend to take this attitude after experiencing a rude awakening in life. When the days of innocence have passed us by we think tragedy, hardship, trials, and tribulations are just a part of the deal. 

It’s going to rain. It does no good to think about it— we trudge along. 

We’ve got overcast days, cold days, and rainy days— but it doesn’t mean we have to live without any light. 

This post is a simple one. Here’s a few passages to help brighten up the darker days. 

These verses don’t take the hurt out of life but they can put the hope back in our lives when we begin to lose drive. 

Isa. 60.19 

No longer will you need the sun to shine by day, nor the moon to give its light by night, for the Lord your God will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.

John 1.4-5 

The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Ps. 40.1-3

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.

I John 1.5 

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.

I would argue that though it’s impossible for every day to be a sunny one, the Christian will always have access to the Light because of His son. 

Dale Pollard

“Killfies”

Neal Pollard

What do high cliff ledges, train tracks, animal game parks, bridges and buildings have in common? They are apparently popular sites for people to take selfies, and places, among others, where over 200 people have died in the last 5 years in pursuit of that “perfect selfie.” The Economic Times of India, a country leading the world in deaths by selfies, reports that 86 people in 2016 and 73 people in 2017 died in this tragic, needless way. Since 2014, 128 have died in the course of taking selfies in this densely populated nation. But other countries are getting involved in trying to stem the tide of such tragedies. Irish doctors reported, “The consequences of poorer spatial awareness and a focus on getting a good or daring photo has lead to multiple traumas” (Indulekha Aravind, 2/18/18).  There are people in Russia that have become celebrities because of their daring self-centered photos (ibid.). Nowhere social media has gone is there an exemption from this trend, including here in our country.

Because I do not have a background in psychology, I freely admit I could be wrong about this. But, could these extraordinary lengths to capture oneself in these kinds of photos be an act of desperation for acceptance, friendship, or even love? Could the yearning for admiration, congratulations, and adulation drive people to disregard all restraint and precaution? I’m not sure I know the answer to that. 

I do know that, as Henry David Thoreau said in 1854, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” (Walden, ch. 1, p. 8).  Perhaps these daring selfies are a symptom of that sensible observation. With selfies, we are able to project exactly the image or perception of ourselves that we want others to see of us. We don’t publish the unflattering nor do we want to show the boring. We want to be seen as valuable, relevant, and attractive. Why? Though we might lose our way in the process, human nature is to desire community and relationship (cf. Gen. 2:24). There are a great many destructive ways to do that, and being self-obsessed is certainly harmful.

It’s very interesting that God planned the church from eternity (Eph. 3:9-11) as a place and a way for us to focus on others. Paul wrote, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4). So much about being Jesus’ disciples gets us outside ourselves and into the lives of others—not just other Christians but people from every walk of life outside of Christ. He wants our energy, effort, and focus to be turned outward. It’s not so much about projection, but about service. Through that, God will be glorified and others can be satisfied. It seems that such is why God has us here!

 

 

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What Are You Consuming?

Neal Pollard

A 17-year-old girl had a stomach ache so bad that she had to go to the hospital. She had lost her appetite, she could barely walk, and doctors for three years had simply given her pain medicine for her inexplicable abdominal issues. The girl’s family had paid over $7000 in medical tests to determine the root cause. The emergency visit, with two CT scans, finally revealed that the massive “tumor” inside her was actually hair—which had formed into a massive hairball. It was her own hair, which she had been compulsively eating for years. The next doctor visit will be for counseling to see if she suffers from trichotillomania (compulsively pulling out one’s own hair) and trichophagia (eating it) (via opposingviews.com).

Apparently, no one ever saw her doing this. It took time for the problem to grow and develop. Yet, there were symptoms that steadily worsened and became more apparent. It was a problem that required help to solve. It is a problem that will require continued efforts to overcome.

This young lady graphically illustrates a pervasive spiritual problem.  Solomon wrote, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23). Jesus illustrates this principle speaking of normal, digestible food (not hair) as not defiling a person but rather that which comes from within a person defiling that one. He says that such things as evil thoughts, sexual sins, sinful attitudes, and sins of the tongue “proceed from within and defile the man” (Mark 7:23).

No one may see us engage in it. It may take time for the symptoms to show up in our lives, but they will eventually show up in such things as our attitudes, speech, dress, and conduct. It will not go away by itself without efforts on our part to get rid of it and to stay free from it. Whether we perceive the pain of the problem or not, it is doing damage to us and we must take steps to remove it from our lives.

What are you consuming? Is it consuming you? Get help. Get rid of it. Get over it. The Great Physician stands ready to help, if you will go to Him!

pierre_auguste_renoir_-_portrait_de_julie_manet

PLAGUE IN MADAGASCAR

Neal Pollard

It is hard to believe that bubonic plague could be a problem in any country in the 21st Century, but that is exactly the case in the African nation of Madagascar.  Helped mainly by extreme unsanitary conditions in that nation’s prisons, 20 people died from the plague there just in the first week of December. There were 256 cases and 60 deaths in 2012, and while that is nothing to compare to the 25 million deaths in Europe during the Middle Ages it is alarming.  Since inmates’ relatives visit those detained, the disease can leap the walls of confinement and become an epidemic throughout the impoverished country bereft of a good, organized public health system. Though 90% of the world’s plague cases have occurred in Madagascar and the D.R.C., there have been outbreaks in India, Indonesia and Algeria in the last decade or so and this summer Kyrgyzstan had its first plague case (and death) in 30 years.  While it seems like ancient history, the last global pandemic occurred just over 100 years ago ( (BBC Scotland, BBC Africa; Quartz).

Read any medieval chronicles of the black death and they seem like horror stories, compounded in those days by the people’s ignorance concerning how the disease spread.  But what was obvious was how swift, painful, and fatal it was.  The resilience of the disease is demonstrated in the fact that it can still be a story today, despite the development of antibiotics and sophisticated means of detecting and preventing it.

Sin is a spiritual disease that cannot be contained by geographical boundaries, technology, medicine, education, or any such potential preventative.  While its effects impact the unseen part of a person, its threat is eternally more great.  People who die with it untreated are lost forever.  There are ways to cope with the symptoms, but there is only one cure.  It is universally accessible and no one who seeks treatment will fail to have the cure.  If we can fathom ourselves, as Christians, and relay to the lost how terrible the sickness of sin really is, we will reach more people and lives will be saved!  Of all the Bible passages that speak of the matter, perhaps none is more impassioned than Paul’s words to Rome as he says, “For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 7:22-8:1).