September 8, 2013 – Pastor Tim – “The Depth of Life”
We can’t control the length of our lives, but we can control its depth.
We all have someone we knew as a child that was important to us; somehow they spoke to us, encouraged us—whether we knew them through the media or if we knew them personally. They helped us become who we are today and are now they are gone. Behind the sadness of their loss, I think, is the reminder that we too are getting older. The death of someone we knew when we were young reminds us that time isn’t marching on—it is running out! Romans 13:11, And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
What are we doing with the shortness of life? What would you do today if you knew that tomorrow was your last day?
The only Psalm attributed to Moses is Psalm 90. In verse 10 he wrote, “The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Those aren’t words we want to hear. We want to remain forever young, but Scripture reminds us that the years will pass and death will one day arrive for us all.
That leaves us to wrestle with two essential questions to ask ourselves:
- Am I ready to “fly away” at life’s end, having trusted Christ as my Savior?
- Am I using my fleeting days to please the One who loves me eternally?
So, I ask again, “How are you doing—no matter your age—with the challenges raised by the shortness of life?”
Psalm 90:12-17,
“So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return, O Lord! How long? And have compassion on Your servants.
14 Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy, That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!
15 Make us glad according to the days in which You have afflicted us, The years in which we have seen evil.
16 Let Your work appear to Your servants, And Your glory to their children.
17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, And establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.
Our vigor is fleeting; our best years are brief,
Our youth passes quickly—time’s ever a their;
But yet becomes us—death’s sting holds no power;
We have a Redeemer—an unfailing Tower. –Gustafson
Paul, in the face of his own mortality, said this in Philippians 1:19-26, For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, 20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. 24 Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
25 And being confident of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy of faith, 26 that your rejoicing for me may be more abundant in Jesus Christ by my coming to you again.
We can’t control the length of our lives, but we can control its depth.
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