I have a clock in my house that has recently decided to run slow. I have been five minutes late leaving my house on a number of occasions because the clock is set five minutes behind. For me, this isn’t really a big deal. I can always set the clock back to what it should be. That would be the logical decision as to keep from arriving fashionably late to work or to other events right? Life, on the contrary, is much different. We are unable to reset the time we have lost, but rather it is what we do with the time we have left that makes all the difference.

This has got me thinking. As a man in my earlier thirties I realize I have at least fifty years left (more or less) to my life barring any traumatic diseases, or accidents, overtake me. That being said, the older I get the more I realize that the possibility of losing time is gaining traction.

The Psalmist says in Psalm 39:5 that he has made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.

We all want to do something spectacular with our lives; although, in the culture of today it is easy to fade away into obscurity. This idea made popular by the Netflix and Chill slogan. Don’t get me wrong I am a huge fan of a good movie night with the family, or an occasional binge watch of the TV show Hawaii 5-0; but, what does this do for the betterment of society.

Sure, this is permissible, pleasant, and enjoyable; but, how will this let me lead a spectacular, fulfilled, and extraordinary life. When the sum of my life is over what will show of it besides a non-descript grave marker which dates 1986 to whenever.

This leads me to another aspect of our losing time. Matthew wrote in his gospel of Jesus about the sum of our days. Matthew 24:36 says, that the day or hour no one knows. Not the angels. Not the son. The father alone knows. Life is a mere handbreadth and we don’t know how long we have from one side of the hand to the other. Neither do we know what kind of real impact we will have along the way.

One of the things that I often find myself asking at the end of the day is “where has the time gone”. I usually have some grand masterful plans that I would have liked to accomplish, but as the cliché says, “there are only so many hours in the day”.

When you are young you think that you are invincible. In this invincibility, we arrogantly say that my end of days is someday afar off, in reality, it is sooner than we imagine. We are merely blades of grass. When the sun rises its heat beats down on the grass it withers, fades, and perishes away.

In the words of Switchfoot “life is short, live it well“. Forget about your yesterday’s. They are nothing more than unnecessary unproductive wrinkle bearers. Make yourself a pact that from this day forward you will look toward the future, reach into the unknown, and make the best of your next moments however long you have.

Hold your children extra tight as you try teach them how to navigate this crazy very short thing called life. Teach them to be generous. That there is a neighbor that needs love. A world that is hurting, broken, and dying. There is a need that needs filling and YOU just might have the solution to the problem.

Peace, love, and Christ ‘cause you know He died for you.