In a few days February will come to an end. Although those who are eagerly waiting for the end of winter and the first signs of spring may feel that February drags on, it is the shortest month of the year, 28 days long most years with one added day every four years. In real time it flies by faster than any other month of the year.
The perception of time is sometimes different from the reality of time. A child waiting for Christmas to come thinks the days pass by very slowly, but a youngster facing a big final exam for which he is not prepared thinks the days go by much too fast. It is a common observation that the years go by faster the older a person gets. Tempus Fugit. The Bible teaches in many places that a human lifespan goes by quickly. Psalm 90:10 says “The years of our life are threescore and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore; yet….they are soon gone, and we fly away.” James 4:14 says “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Psalm 90 continues with the prayer “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
A heart of wisdom is one that does not fret about the shortness of human life but values each day as it comes. A good verse with which to begin the day is Psalm 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Carpe Diem. The day may be one that seems like any other ordinary day, perhaps a dull grey day in November, for instance. But it is still a day the Lord has made for his people to fill with good things. Lawrence Welk used to close his television program with the cheerful admonition to “keep a song in your heart.” His program had a long run on TV, but even that had to come to an end eventually – except for repeats on public TV which will probably go on forever in his native North Dakota. More seriously, Ephesians 5:16 says to “make the most of the time…..addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart….”
If God is on his throne, if Jesus has made atonement for the sins of the world, and if the Spirit of God is moving among his people, then this is a good day. In fact, God is on his throne. Jesus did die for the sins of the world and rise again on the third day. The Spirit continues to proceed from the Father and the Son. No matter what challenges, hurts, or losses this day may bring there is still something for which to give thanks this day. Deo Gratias.
And when that last day of life comes, believers in Christ have the promise of an eternity of joy ahead of them. As it says in 2nd Corinthians 4:17 “this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” And so, no matter how long life on this earth may last, it is just a short prelude to eternal life in heaven where joy will never end. So enjoy today with the confidence that the best is yet to be.
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