Legacy

COUNTING TO THE APPOINTMENT

By Karl Priest 2008 (revised 12-6-20)

A good Bible verse to apply at a young age is “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” (Psalms 90:12)

While searching the Internet for a resource to determine the day of the week for any date I found a calculator which quickly determines how many days an individual has been alive. 

This caused me to think about what I have accomplished so far and those thoughts naturally led to pondering how many days I have left.

Life insurance companies plan their bottom line based upon the probability of the life spans of policy holders. It is mathematically predictable how long we are expected to live. The Social Security Department publishes a chart of individual life expectancy after reaching the age of 65. It is an eye opener.  If you hope that eating correctly, exercising, and other good personal attributes will add a few years there is a detailed life expectancy calculator at https://www.ssa.gov/planners/lifeexpectancy.html.

Using simple mathematics I subtracted my age from the age I likely will die then I multiplied that answer (years I have left) by 365 days (I did not concern myself with Leap Years.) That gave me the total days I have left. If you want to avoid the math work, this resource allows calculations between dates: http://www.timeanddate.com/date/duration.html.

Actually, when I retired from public school teaching I did the math and then placed a hand counter on my desk. I engraved it with the number of my likely remaining days. Each morning, when I check my calendar activities for the day, I click the counter. It tends to keep me on task.  

All of the above provides a stronger impact if we look at the subject Biblically.

“The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.”   (Psalms 90:10)

So, God gives us 70 years (80 if we are healthy) as a guideline of temporal life expectancy. Some do not make it to 70 and a few make it longer than 80. Look at your family and think of those you know who made it to 80. Also, note that God did not promise us that our years would be easy.

We know (but usually put out of our minds) that we always are a heartbeat, or drunk driver, away from death. "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away”. (James 4:14)

So, how should we prioritize what we do with the time that we have?

Our time on earth is a blink compared to what awaits us. We can choose to spend temporal time chasing personal goals and possessions or we can seek to serve God for eternity.

It will not be long until we will stand before our Creator and be held accountable for our decisions of how we spent our time. Martin Luther said, “If we are correct and right in our Christian life at every point, but refuse to stand for the truth at a particular point where the battle rages—then we are traitors to Christ.”

It would be difficult to find anything more important than our children. There certainly is a battle raging for their hearts and minds.

Jesus had a special love for children and almost everyone has a tender place in his/her heart for children.

Webster’s original definition of “accountable” was “Liable to be called on to render an account; answerable; as, every man is accountable to God for his conduct”.

Jesus said, “But whoso therefore shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged around his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Mt. 18:6) Offend means to harm, damage, cause hardship, impair, diminish in strength, commit an injustice, or cause to sin.

Soon time will not matter except for our final appointment.  "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27).

Will we have taught our children to apply their hearts to biblical wisdom?

Also see "Face the Facts," “Wake Up Before the Clock Stops,” "Close Calls,"and "Something Good Will Happen."

The Bible makes it clear that “we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” I Timothy 6:7

The Lord Jesus said:

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (Matthew 6:19-20)
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (Luke 12:19-20 )

A good prayer is in Psalms 39: LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. (4) Deliver me from all my transgressions: make me not the reproach of the foolish. (8)

Published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail on December 27, 2019 (page 11A).

Added here on 12-6-20:

Lemuel Haynes (July 18, 1753 – September 28, 1833) A veteran of the American Revolution, Haynes was the first black man in the United States to be ordained as a minister….He had composed his own epitaph, which was included on his gravestone as he had requested. Here lies the dust of a poor hell-deserving sinner who ventured into eternity trusting wholly on the merits of Christ for salvation. In the full belief of the great doctrines he preached while on earth, he invites his children, and all who read this, to trust their eternal interest in the same foundation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuel_Haynes#Military_service

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