Are My Days Numbered?

I once met a lady who told me, “As long as you don’t ask me how long I’ve lived, how much I weigh, or how much I make, we will get along just fine.”  She went on to say, “As you can tell, I’m not a numbers gal.”  Indeed.  She’s not alone.  It seems we sure don’t like numbers these days.

Yet, the Bible isn’t afraid of numbers.  It spills ages, army sizes, population counts, festival lengths, journey times, and more.  And to top it all off: it says, before I was born, my days were numbered:

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” (Psalm 139:16)

The Bible even encourages me to number my days.  Apparently, it makes us wise:

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

Considering I would like to acquire wisdom, and since I have always found God and His Word to lead me in the right direction, I will endeavor (on this special day, my 31st birthday) to publicly number my days, in obedience to Him.  Here we go.  Let’s see…

Life begins at conception.  I was born on June 20, 1981.  I am now 31.  There have been 8 leap days since my birth.  Ok, if I do the math [270 + (31*365) + 8], I have been alive… 11,593 days. 

So, what’s the point of this exercise?  The Bible says, part of knowing that my days are numbered, and then numbering my days, is to recognize that my days are relatively few:

“O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!” (Psalm 39:4)

Now, I’m not sure of my exact end.  But we do know that the average life expectancy for a male from Texas is 75.68 years (roughly 27,912 days).  And the Bible says I shouldn’t expect to live any more than 120 years, given the state of sinful humanity (roughly 44,100 days; cf. Genesis 6:3).  By these counts, I have lived, at the very least, 25-40% of my life.  That’s a sobering thought.

In college, I attended a concert where a modern piece by an American composer was being performed for the first time.  I don’t remember the name of the composer, the name of the piece, or even how the piece sounded.  But I do remember his motivation for writing it.  Apparently, on his 28th birthday, he learned that a comet was passing by earth and completing its 76-year tour of the galaxy.  And he dared ask: “That comet has seen the universe in such a short time. So what am I doing with my life?”

I think that’s the aim of the whole “number your days” thinking.  It dares us to ask the same.  In fact, I thought of several more reasons why it’s healthy to number our days:

First, we see that our life is a gift.  Every day has purpose.  Life is not meant to be wasted.  Even on days when I think “Today is just not my day,” I can still recall: "This is His day that He's made.  Joy can still be found in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Secondly, we understand rightly that our days are (literally & figuratively) numbered.  It changes our perspective on the decisions we make, what we do with our time, and even how we spend that not-for-public-discussion paycheck.  Lest we also hear: “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?” (Luke 12:13-21).

Thirdly, we are humbled.  The Bible compares our lifespans to withering grass, fading flowers, vanishing mist, and mere breath—all this in comparison to an everlasting God.  Moreover, we will stand before this God and give an account for what we have done with our days (Romans 14:12).

Fourthly, we sense urgency.  We are more likely to make things right before the sun goes down, and to redeem the time (Ephesians 4:26; 5:15).  We are less likely to leave things unsaid, to let things go undone—to let life go unlived, especially given the options of abundant, fruitful, and eternal life.

I’m sure there are many other reasons.  But I haven’t laid full claim to that heart of wisdom yet, as I just started counting.  In the meantime, it’s also been fun to see where I’ve been (my birthday blogs from 2010 & 2011).  I celebrated my 30th birthday twice!  Ok, so what equation should I use to factor that in?

Lord, as this song goes, teach me to count the days...teach me to make the days count…lead me in better ways…somehow, my soul forgot…life means so much…

 

Precious Fruit

I recently wrote a review for The Jesus Life by author (and friend) Stephen Smith. I had enjoyed every page. This passage about “the way of hiddenness,” in particular, spoke to me:

Jesus lived an obscure and anonymous life, and there’s something in that for us to learn…Such a hidden life seems like a waste in this day and age.  But learning to embrace obscure seasons and hidden years yields a richness in our lives that frees us from the demands to be applauded and to be elevated to a status we may not even want because it would disrupt the quality of an anonymous life. 

A hidden life, an obscure season, a yielded richness—this is where I am.  And it has been a lesson in patience: “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains” (James 5:7).

Lately, I have seen some signs of life—some precious fruit.  You see, I pray that God would bless my writing, my serving, and my speaking.  He has been doing so.  And I don’t want this to be about self-promotion, but about joint celebration.  I am excited to share with you some things He’s been up to in my life… (Click green links.)

I was asked to guest post for a great website geared toward single Christians.  I chose to write about a topic that’s dear to me—the difference between being alone and being lonely.  You can check out my post today at SingleRoots.

Last month, my friend Lore asked me to guest post on the topic of rest while she was away on sabbatical.  It was a joy to do so.  The post can still be viewed at Sayable.

This month, the Waco Regional Baptist Association interviewed me about my church, Hilltop Christian Fellowship.  The article can be read on the home page of the WRBA website, on the right side, entitled “The Body of Believers.”

A friend of mine took one of my tweets and crafted this picture, along with the quote.  I was so honored that he shared this online.  You can share it on Facebook as well.

  

Finally, on a funny note, I got to cross an item off the bucket list—winning a caption contest!  I entered the contest for Athlon Sports (a popular Sports publication) via Twitter.  The picture is here...

 

My caption was: “Say it ain’t so, Shirtless Joe!”  It’s a play on Shoeless Joe Jackson.  You can read more about the history of the original quote (“Say it ain’t so, Joe!”) on Wikipedia.  Eventually, my name and caption will be featured on the Tweet This Caption contest site, updated around June 15. 

All of this, and more, has been like seeing sprouts come from the ground, after a season of preparing the soil and planting the seed.  Perhaps it’s still the early rains.  Regardless, it’s precious fruit to me.  Thanks for sharing in it!