The past couple weeks have been fairly intense. My wife was gone for military duty the last nine days of June, so our four kids had what I call a Dadication, which was exhausting, but actually went fairly well. Just prior to this my Uncle, who had lived over 90 years, had passed away in California and his burial was pending in Iowa. Just prior to leaving for his burial last week, I received a phone call that an 18 year old I have known since he was one had passed away. And two days ago, I received another phone call that a 44 year old local principal that I have known and worked with for years had drowned. Anytime you hear about the passing of a friend or family member, or maybe even some celebrity you didn’t know well, it should cause you to pause and reflect a bit on their life, and eventually to do the same of your own life. How do you value a person’s life, no matter how long or short it may have been?
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah Psalm 39:5
One interesting thing my uncle mentioned to me about 15 years ago was that he was booked on a Pacific Southwest Airlines flight in 1978, but had to change his flight at the last minute. This flight ended up crashing just north of San Diego leaving no survivors. He didn’t mention if it changed anything about how he was living, but something like that would make most of us at least pause a bit. If you are like me, I’m sure you have had some close calls or near miss accidents that make you consider what might have been if things were a couple seconds or a few feet different, as your life may have easily ended. I have a cousin that nearly died in multiple motorcycle accidents. A simple diagnosis may also mean that our lives will be drastically different going forward. These close calls may often be wake up calls to some of us to take inventory of our lives and consider if we need to be doing anything different. If you knew your life was ending in a week, would you be doing anything different in the coming days?
Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14
Each one of us, whether born again or not, has a limited time here on earth to do what we can with what we have been given. Most of us till the age of 30-40 likely live our lives practically with the attitude that we will live forever. Once we hit around 40, we realize our lives are probably half over, even in a best case scenario. Each year, I also realize that my body is not what it once was and that while I should be wiser, my physical limitations are becoming more evident as as my body wears down. Do these things draw you closer to God, or make you more bitter and grumpy toward Him and others around you? As those around us come and go, let us be an encouragement to others and share the hope we have in Christ. I wish that I could sit down and visit for 30 minutes with everyone I know to listen and share with them. Because no matter if young or old, rich or poor, the same fate awaits us all, as the grave is the great equalizer. Let us make the most of what remains of our lives!
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
Yours in Christ,
Clark
