Wednesday, November 15, 2017

The Wisdom of Numbering Our Days

“Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.  If only we knew the power of your anger!  Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.  Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:10-12 NIV)

Sometimes when I look in the mirror in the morning or the pharmacist asks me for my date of birth when I pick up a prescription, I am reminded that I am not getting any younger.  And the old adage, “my how time flies” is so true.  It doesn’t seem that long ago I was one of the young guys in my field of ministry.  Now I am one of the oldest.  Most of those in my high school class are now becoming grandparents, and while retirement was for so long an odd thing for me to consider, I now see its shadow looming on the horizon.

As I read this psalm yesterday, it made me realize how the number of my days is rapidly shrinking.  Seventy is still a ways off for me, but it’s a lot closer than it used to be and life expectancy levels today still remain in the range the Psalmist declared several millennia ago.  Though I could conceivably die at anytime, my death is almost certain within the next 30-35 years.  While that is a long time, I am beginning to realize how quickly time passes and the need to heed the teaching of this psalm.

We often think it morbid to contemplate our own death; hence why so many are reluctant to draw up a will or talk about end-of-life issues.  We are a culture that is almost phobic about death, so we avoid thinking about it or discussing it.  But the reality is that death is coming to us all and, according to the Psalmist, we would be wise to consider our own mortality.

We see this truth played out in the testimonies of those who encounter a life-threatening experience such as cancer or an accident.  They tell how their perspectives on life changed, how their priorities were rearranged.  They came face to face with the realization of the finite number of their days and it changed the way they view and live life.  

The wisdom of numbering our days is the recognition that they are limited.  Whether you are still a teenager or 20-something, middle-aged, or nearing retirement, your life on this planet is drawing to a close.  The sooner you recognize that, the wiser you will be in how you live out those years.

Today, understand your life on earth is finite.  One day you will die and that day is not as far off as you may now think.  Time is going to fly by. Be wise and recognize this fact, so you can set priorities now that will insure a life well lived.

© Jim Musser 2017

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