This week NBC News sent me an article about a study being conducted on aging. (Like I really needed that, but if you do, there’s a link at the bottom of this devotion.)
Study author Michael Snyder, a professor and the chair of genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine said, “As people get older, they start to be very concerned about aging.” Ok, I must admit that sentence made me laugh out loud. I wanted to say something really snarky, like, “Ya think?”
Of course, as we get older we start to think about getting older, aging. There is something about the aging process that makes its presence known whether we want it to or not. Psalm 39 is a song of David and it’s titled in some translations as a “Prayer for Wisdom and Thanksgiving.” In the song David cries out, “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.” [v4 NIV]
Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians to “walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time.” [5:15-16a NKJV]
We only have so much time in this life, only so many opportunities before we reach the end. The wise person makes the most of every moment and every occasion to do good and serve the LORD. It may not seem that way when we have more days in front than behind, but when we cross that invisible line (aging), and we have more days behind than in front, it becomes quite clear.
Teach us LORD, to redeem our time for You.
