Early this afternoon I had surgery on the left side of my neck and left shoulder. There were two Lipomas, fatty tumors, which needed to be removed. Not my first surgery. My wife and I were counting on the way to the hospital, I think this was my 13th surgery, good thing I am not triskaidekaphobic.
As I was in the prep area waiting to be taken to the OR, from time to time I glanced at the clock on the wall to see how much time was left until they took me back. The clock was typical generic clock, round, black rim, white face with black numbers, and a red second hand. The second hand did not move smoothly, rather it jumped from second to second. It got me to thinking.
Each of us will have a last second. At some point that second hand will jump and it will be the last time, in this life, that we will experience a second.
In Psalm 90:12, the psalmist tells us that we are to number our days. To calculate how long we have to serve the Lord here. We are to do that so that we can present to Him a heart of wisdom. I take that, like we are told in the parable of the rich man and Christ’s explanation in Luke 12:16 – 32, that we are to place our relationship and service to Him as first place in our lives. We are to arrange our lives to maximize our impact for Him. In the past I have had conversations with people who say that they are going to give Him the second half. Become significant after they have become successful. I am not sure that there is anything wrong with that, I have suspicions but not sure.
I am pretty sure, based on what Christ shared in Luke 12:16 - 32, I am not going to know how long that last half will be. I am sure I will not know when the last second is.
Each of us will have a last second. At some point that second hand will jump and it will be the last time, in this life, that we will experience a second.
In Psalm 90:12, the psalmist tells us that we are to number our days. To calculate how long we have to serve the Lord here. We are to do that so that we can present to Him a heart of wisdom. I take that, like we are told in the parable of the rich man and Christ’s explanation in Luke 12:16 – 32, that we are to place our relationship and service to Him as first place in our lives. We are to arrange our lives to maximize our impact for Him. In the past I have had conversations with people who say that they are going to give Him the second half. Become significant after they have become successful. I am not sure that there is anything wrong with that, I have suspicions but not sure.
I am pretty sure, based on what Christ shared in Luke 12:16 - 32, I am not going to know how long that last half will be. I am sure I will not know when the last second is.
Our pastor preached on Psalm 90:12 the last Sunday in December regarding the coming year. The next Sunday my greatest Love on earth had her stroke and the next Sunday she soared into the strong, warm embrace of her Savior.
ReplyDeleteWe really had no warning. I had no sure last chance to say "good bye," although the doctors told us she could almost certainly understand what was going on and being said around and to her. So the family and I did our best to tell her all that was on our hearts.
She and I had a number of plans for this year and beyond, expecting to serve God and grow old for at least 10 or 15 more years. As one who closely observed her life for 45 years I am content that she served God as best she knew with all her heart and strength all those years. She left prepared to meet the One she loved even more than she did me.
James tells us how long our lives will be; "You're nothing but a wisp of fog...." (Ch. 4:14, The Message). The "second half" of a wisp of fog isn't very long. I'd better get busy. I've got to redefine my entire life, and still hope to serve Him well I'd like her to be proud of me yet.