In 1971, musician Jim Croce wrote a song that would become a number one hit. ‘Time in a Bottle’ climbed to the top of charts in 1974 following Croce’s untimely death in September of 1973 at the age of 30. Along with the beautiful guitar acoustics, the lyrics dealing with immorality and the wish to have more time, speak to heart of every human being. It’s a wonderful sentiment but a terrible philosophy of life!
The famous lines from daytime soap opera is perhaps more accurate: Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. The Apostle James would write: What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:18) We must all live our lives with the understanding our days here on earth are limited. David would write in Psalm 139:16…all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
The dilemma before us human beings is not how much time we have or do not have but rather how we use the time we have been given. Paul speaks of redeeming the time (Ephesians 513); making the most of our time / opportunities; about making our lives count.
Once again I am confronted with the question, what I am going to do with the remaining days of my life? I have sought to bring some clarity to that question in establishing a personal purpose statement: to learn to rest more fully in the presence of God; seeking to live as a beloved child, to be faithful to His calling in my life and to be a blessing and encouragement to the people closet to me; my family and church family. But each day I must wrestle through how I am going to invest my time and energy in a way that aligns with my purposes and values. I don’t want to just drift through this season of my life. I don’t want to come to the end of my days on earth and look but with a deep sense of regret as to what might have been.
I have to remind myself of a message we declare often at Valley…finish well! We define finishing well as living well right to the end! It involves making choices now that will strengthen, that will build a confident faith. It involves making choices to invest my time, talents and resources into that which really matters. It involves making choices to stay connected to the community of faith, to serve others and look for opportunities to do good.
We have all been given a precious gift; all of life is a gift, graciously given from the hand of a good and beautiful God. My friends at Valley, embrace the gift, life each day to its fullest, give and serve and seize every opportunity to be a blessing, to make a difference; finish well! For the honor and glory of our Lord, I call you again to finish well!
The famous lines from daytime soap opera is perhaps more accurate: Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. The Apostle James would write: What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. (James 4:18) We must all live our lives with the understanding our days here on earth are limited. David would write in Psalm 139:16…all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
The dilemma before us human beings is not how much time we have or do not have but rather how we use the time we have been given. Paul speaks of redeeming the time (Ephesians 513); making the most of our time / opportunities; about making our lives count.
Once again I am confronted with the question, what I am going to do with the remaining days of my life? I have sought to bring some clarity to that question in establishing a personal purpose statement: to learn to rest more fully in the presence of God; seeking to live as a beloved child, to be faithful to His calling in my life and to be a blessing and encouragement to the people closet to me; my family and church family. But each day I must wrestle through how I am going to invest my time and energy in a way that aligns with my purposes and values. I don’t want to just drift through this season of my life. I don’t want to come to the end of my days on earth and look but with a deep sense of regret as to what might have been.
I have to remind myself of a message we declare often at Valley…finish well! We define finishing well as living well right to the end! It involves making choices now that will strengthen, that will build a confident faith. It involves making choices to invest my time, talents and resources into that which really matters. It involves making choices to stay connected to the community of faith, to serve others and look for opportunities to do good.
We have all been given a precious gift; all of life is a gift, graciously given from the hand of a good and beautiful God. My friends at Valley, embrace the gift, life each day to its fullest, give and serve and seize every opportunity to be a blessing, to make a difference; finish well! For the honor and glory of our Lord, I call you again to finish well!
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