“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
-Psalm 90:12
Wisdom here is linked to knowing that death is coming. Moses just got through saying man may live 70 perhaps 80 years. No one knows when they will die but in 2021, the average life span in the United States was 76 years. Of course, Moses was right on. What wisdom is here for us? How does numbering our days get or gain a heart of wisdom?
Isn’t it obvious that the experience of time itself seems to be speeding up as we age. There is some theories behind that but it’s a universal experience. Grandparents struggle to believe that they are grandparents and for many of us it seems like we were in high school just the other day. Time is fleeting.
One of the things my grandfather mentioned to me before my grandmother’s funeral was that he would have done things much differently. Now he was a great Godly man, but still, he was immediately confronted with the finality of death. My grandmother even said something similar. Death puts things in perspective. We know we have everlasting life, yet there are real, true eternal consequences for what we do now.
Time is fleeting and this life will end so what are you to do? Much can be said about this, but here are two things to think about.
The first is that you need to have a plan. Households should have a mission. Marriages should have a mission. Your life should have a mission. We know that we do all things for the glory of God but what’s something unique to your skills and gifts and place in this world. Men, it would be wise to speak to your wife and children about your plan, maybe even write it down and change it as you grow along the way. Everyone needs to know what are the goals and how are we going to get there?
How does a man find himself in his old age surrounded by Godly kids and grandkids? It doesn’t happen on accident. How does a marriage have joy to the end? How are you going to use your time? If you don’t have plan, I encourage you to make one. Think about the future and understand the needs of those around you and get to work for the glory of God. Our goals should be oriented for generations to come. The details matter and by God’s grace your work will not be in vain.
One thing a plan does is that it exposes laziness and procrastination. It doesn’t cure the problem but exposes the problem and human nature tends to fall into ruts of going through the motions and before we know it years just pass us by. How do you avoid that? Well, if it doesn’t work towards your goal get rid of it. If you need to study a subject to grow then don’t wait. How many of us truly take our days for granted. One day your child is too heavy to pick up. One day they are married. One day you are holding your loved ones hand as they approach the valley of death.
Eventually tomorrow will be gone church. Death is something we cannot procrastinate. Men, lead the way of your home and communicate with your bride. Church, wherever you are become a mighty tool in the hands of God. Do the hard things and when it seems small consider the generations that will praise the Lord for your efforts.
It takes faith. It takes an eagerness to repent when we get it wrong and that takes great faith in a great God. Church, we have everlasting hope. If through one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.