Old Testament scholar Peter Craigie explored the Bible’s view on the brevity of human life. At one point in his career, Craigie wrote, “Life is extremely short, and if its meaning is to be found, it must be found in the purpose of God, the giver of all life.” He claimed that recognizing the transitory nature of our lives is “a starting point in achieving the sanity of a pilgrim in an otherwise mad world.”

Craigie wrote those words in 1983, in the first of three planned volumes on the Psalms in a prestigious scholarly commentary series. Two years later he died in a car accident, leaving his commentary incomplete. He was 47 years old. Craigie’s life was taken before he and his loved ones expected, before he could accomplish his good and worthy goals. Yet in his short life he bore witness to the breathtaking horizon of eternity. He bore witness to how embracing our mortal limits goes hand-in-hand with offering our mortal bodies to the Lord of life.