The length of our days is seventy years - or eighty if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away... Teach us to number our days aright, that we may have a heart of wisdom.

Psalms 90:10 & 12, NIV

 

How do you feel about getting older? Just about everybody I know isn't a big fan, but as the psalmist points out, it is something we really should think about.

 

I can remember when I first started preaching about this verse when I was about twenty-five. I would tell people that if my life was average, then it was about a third over at that point. That was alright with me at the time because I was in good health and it seemed like it took an awful long time to get to that point. Still, half way is half way, and it did get me to thinking. 

 

But now, Moses' call for thinking about our mortality is a bit more pressing. At nearly 64 years of age, I'm looking at about six to sixteen more years on the range he gives above. Since the last six to sixteen years have gone by rather quickly, it's beginning to dawn on me that the sands in that proverbial hourglass are starting to run out.

 

Wow, cheery stuff so far, right?

 

But actually, it is. The closer I get to Moses' sliding scale of life expectancy, the happier I get. Not because I am some sort of fatalist, but because I know that the next phase is way better than this one, for it is eternal. That being the case, I still have exactly the same amount of time remaining as the two of my grandchildren who have yet to turn one. And while I know that my physical life is diminishing (I do have a mirror) the ever-shrinking amount of physical time I have left doesn't really bother me that much, for God has placed before me the hope of Heaven if I will just be faithful. 

 

Putting aside the worry that too many people have about their years running out then frees us up to take care of the really important things that God has planned for us all. The numbering aright of our years will prompt us to make sure that we are taking care of the most important things. So here is what I am thinking we all need to be doing with our remaining time:

 

First, God has given us the offer of eternal life with He and Christ. He has extended His grace to all and Christ has died for all so the most important things have already been done. The only part remaining is our part (we are called "servants" after all) so we must read the terms of His offer, accept those terms and then do them. 

 

Second, God has given that same offer of eternal life to our loved ones, so we need to encourage them to accept their own responsibility, read the Bible to find out His will, and then do it.

 

Third, this old world is in a pretty big mess. While we cannot clean up the whole thing, we can do our part to take care of the small corner that we are in. So we must be determined to do just that as long as God blesses us with the strength to do so.

 

And fourth, we have to be determined to appreciate and enjoy the time we do have left. As the blind and deaf Helen Keller once said, life really is either an exciting adventure or it is nothing at all. God has given us a great gift with this life, and I am learning that one of the greatest parts of this gift is the fact that He has wisely limited it to a very reasonable number - about seventy to eighty years. And while it is true that age comes with its share of unique challenges and surprises, it is a blessing, not a curse, for the physical part of our existence to have an expiration date.

 

We are, after all, going to Heaven if we will do our part. God loves us and will always do His part. Christ, too, will continue to do His. Since this is the case the only thing that remains is for us to do our part. Since that includes numbering our days aright. let us do so with an eager anticipation of the quickly approaching finish line and the prize that awaits those who will run the race by God's rules. And while we are at it, let's make sure that we are urging our loved ones (and everyone else) to do the same.

 

One last thought. I have never seen a long distance runner who was disappointed in seeing the finish line. For Christians, this finish line of our physical lives is merely the beginning of the marvelous eternity that God has in store for all who will just number their days aright and then live the rest of their physical lives in a way that will please Him.