There’s still time

I often make the statement that the older I get, the faster time seems to go. No one to my recollection has ever disagreed, even as we are all well aware that no 24-hour-day goes faster than another.

It is a common, shared, human experience. Before we know it, we’re in our 30s, 40s, 50s, and so on…and we look back and wonder how life had become such a blur. We struggle to remember more than just the major highlights of our past. We may even struggle with disappointments of things we haven’t accomplished in our younger years – before nature took its course and our dreams along with it.

But here’s the thing. We still have some things going for us. We’re still breathing. Our heart is still beating. Dwelling on days gone by will only make the days ahead a repeat of what we have lost. We can learn from our disappointments of the past and live with purpose and urgency today, and every day that still lies ahead for us. There are still things – important things – we can do with the time we have left.

The writer of Ecclesiastes wrote about his existential crisis of trying to make sense of life – of living. Everything seemed to him so meaningless, like a vapor. We work only to one day die. We obtain knowledge and wisdom only to increase our sorrow and grief in light of this final fate that befalls us the same as the fool who lives in blissful ignorance.

But throughout his searching in the darkness, the writer grasps onto moments of light – moments that are hope-filled only because he has learned that a meaningful life is based on much more than temporary, disappointing human experience. Rather, it is based on the One who stands outside of space and time.

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God….Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few…Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-7).

God alone superintends the world. He set it into motion and He sustains it by His mercy and grace. All struggle to make sense of this life is truly meaningless outside of His plan and purpose. But as we live for Him, through His strength and wisdom, we can make our lives count. We can live for Him, rather than the constant disappointment that we experience by living only for ourselves.

“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth…” (Ecclesiastes 12:1). As each decade passes, our physical and mental capacities will fade. We can look back and wish that we had done more, or we can live for what matters today – and more importantly, for eternity.

“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion on the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).

What mental or physical capacities do you still have? If you can mow the yard for your elderly neighbor, go do it. If you can sit and talk with someone who is hurting, do it. If you can pray (that’s all of us!), then pray with every ounce of passion you have left. But do it all because you know Who holds the world in His hands. And because you know Who holds the future.

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