November 1, 2017
Today as I turned my wall calendar to November, I thought about how quickly October slipped by. As a child, I recall the joy of another birthday, another year of school completed, and those other wonderful events that come with age – like getting a driver’s license on birthday 16. The journey of a year felt long when a desired accomplishment was anticipated.
Part of the immaturity of youth is the tendency to anticipate the finish but not always enjoy the journey. Being a kid has so many benefits: Someone else provides for our needs, there is usually a lot of time to play, and protection is taken for granted as we sleep securely while someone else lies awake worrying about how to pay the bills.
Youth views life as though it will never end. To skip a few days or weeks to fulfill a desire more quickly seems like a good idea. Value of each day is easily lost. But as we grow older, the reality of running out of time can make us want to slow down the process. Actually, I could use another October to finish some of the things I thought might be completed by today. Like the writer of James 4:14, days feel like vapor – here and gone so quickly.
The days of October did not slip away more rapidly than the days of any other month – all the way back to when Creator God started the process of life on Planet Earth. Twenty-four hours for Adam was the same amount of time as a day in my life. But I wonder if time seemed to move more slowly in Adam’s days than in mine. He had fewer distractions than I do and not as many options for the use of his time.
The writer of Psalm 90 talks about the Creator’s eternity and human perspective. Verse 12 in one translation says: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” I believe this is God’s plan for today – for younger and older humans. As we follow this directive, we will come to the end of today with confidence that we accomplished what He intended. It is good to remember that leaving some things unfinished at the end of our life on Planet Earth is a good thing. Otherwise, we will feel our work is done and just sit and wait to die – not a good plan!
Pastor Bill Ehmann