As we come to the end of 2023, we can truly say that time really does fly.
Where have all the months and years gone? It feels like just yesterday Donald Trump was surprisingly elected President of the United States. That was almost 8 years ago.
And when it comes to family memories, how quickly our children (and grandchildren, or even great grandchildren) grow up.
To ask again, where have all the years gone?
I often find myself asking this same question on a personal level as I look back at past journal entries. Here, in particular, it can feel like time flies – and I mean flies, swiftly and unrelentingly.
The clock stops for no one.
All the more then, as we move from our teen years into our 20s, then 30s, then 40s, then 50s, then 60s, then 70s, then 80s, then 90s (or beyond), let us “redeem the time” (or, “make the most of every opportunity”; Ephesians 5:16), seeing how little time we have and how much we want to do for God and His work.
To be sure, rest is also a gift from God, enshrined in the Sabbath in Israel’s calendar. And part of life is living – meaning, life is to be enjoyed with family and with friends (1 Timothy 6:17). Not every minute of every day must be devoted to fulfilling some important task.
Still, given the brevity of life, the greatness of the needs, the evil of the hour, and the vastness of eternity, we do well to make our lives count, to live lives worthy of the Lord, and to run our races while we have breath...