Insights to help you . . . |
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“Show me, O LORD, and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man's life is but a breath.” - Psalm 39:4-5
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It is always challenging to approach a new year and to realize again and afresh that our days upon this earth are so rapidly passing. It has been wisely said that no thinking person ever regarded the beginning of a new year with indifference. Each of us faces many concerns and questions as we stand on the threshold of the unknown future. Most people think very little about what matters most and think very much about what matters little. At the beginning of a New Year God calls us through his Word to keep us from such foolishness and to make us wise. Wise people are people who have proportion in their lives. What matters most they are most concerned with, and what matters least they are least concerned with. To get real wisdom is to think frequently of your death. Or to put it another way, think of the shortness of this life and the infinite length of the next. Psalm 90:12 says, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Death is huge and death is sure. And so God is calling us in his Word to think about it and get serious about the purpose of our lives in a way that fits with how momentous death is. There is scarcely any thought that will purge our priorities of vain and worldly perceptions like the thought of our imminent death. O how cleansing it is to ponder the kind of life we would like to look back on when we come to die. There is great wisdom in such meditation. Therefore, think often of your dying. Look at the way David’s life was summarized by the apostle Paul: For David, after he had served God’s purpose in his own generation, died and was laid to rest with his ancestors” (Acts 13:36). Anyone who would have a godly impact on his own generation must make a basic decision: I must live for God, and his purposes and not for myself. The Bible teaches us that God has a special plan for the lives of each one of his children. When you have served God’s purpose in your generation, you are also going to die. That brings the question to your mind: How should I live for God? What is the purpose of my life? For what reason am I still living? How do I make sure that I am not wasting my life? When you understand God’s call for your life, it brings assurance and commitment, direction and perspective in your life. Reproduced by permission, from a sermon preached by Dr. Flip Buys, Founder of the Mukanyo Theological College and Director of the Mukanyo Community Development Centre (MCDC), KwaMhlanga, South Africa. Dr. Buys also serves as a member of the TOPIC International Council. Website: www.mukhanyo.org.za Email: flip@mukhanyo.co.za |
J. Paul Landrey |
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