“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
We all know life is short. Yet we don't seem to live as if we know this. We live for this life and the things of this life. The reality is that we are but passing through. This is not our permanent home. We don't even know how long we will live, yet we know it is not very long, relatively.
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14).
We could well die today or tomorrow. We do not know.
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” (Psalm 39:4-5)
What should it do to us, knowing these truths? How then shall we live, knowing we shall soon die? Psalm 90:12 suggests this knowledge may help us to gain a heart of wisdom.
By reflecting on these truths, we are encouraged to seek to re-prioritize our life, to live with humility under God, and to wisely discern what the most important things in our life are.
Maybe this heart of wisdom will then convince us that these things are what we should focus most on.
My immediate thoughts settle on relationships. It can't be money, or stuff, or ego. They are all gone, for us, on that last day. While many relationships also end on that last day, many last for eternity if they know and trust Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross.
So, for all of us it comes down to wisely discerning the most important things in our life. So, what are they for you?
For me, it turns out there are not many of them. Jesus, my wife and my children. That is it. These three things make me the richest man alive, and I am very thankful to Jesus, who is everything to me and who gave me my wife and children. More than that, He gives eternal life, and the hope that these relationships so dear to me will last for all eternity.
We all know life is short. Yet we don't seem to live as if we know this. We live for this life and the things of this life. The reality is that we are but passing through. This is not our permanent home. We don't even know how long we will live, yet we know it is not very long, relatively.
“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14).
We could well die today or tomorrow. We do not know.
“Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” (Psalm 39:4-5)
What should it do to us, knowing these truths? How then shall we live, knowing we shall soon die? Psalm 90:12 suggests this knowledge may help us to gain a heart of wisdom.
By reflecting on these truths, we are encouraged to seek to re-prioritize our life, to live with humility under God, and to wisely discern what the most important things in our life are.
Maybe this heart of wisdom will then convince us that these things are what we should focus most on.
My immediate thoughts settle on relationships. It can't be money, or stuff, or ego. They are all gone, for us, on that last day. While many relationships also end on that last day, many last for eternity if they know and trust Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross.
So, for all of us it comes down to wisely discerning the most important things in our life. So, what are they for you?
For me, it turns out there are not many of them. Jesus, my wife and my children. That is it. These three things make me the richest man alive, and I am very thankful to Jesus, who is everything to me and who gave me my wife and children. More than that, He gives eternal life, and the hope that these relationships so dear to me will last for all eternity.
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