Words by Scott McCullar | Image by Blakeney Clouse
This year, I will turn 50 years old. “Old” is a relative term, and where you are in your life will determine how old 50 truly is. If you are a student or young adult reading this, I am old as the hills. If you are in your 80s or above, I’m just a young man. For me, 50 is significant because that was the age of my mother when she died.
My mother was down with a bad back for most of her adult life, enduring ten grueling back surgeries. However, weeks before she turned 51, an aneurysm burst in the back of her brain and she never recovered, passing away right before Mother’s Day almost 20 years ago.
In my early 30s then, I didn’t think much about turning 50. It just seemed so far away. But here it is, staring me in the face. I’m as old as my mother was when she died. Wow.
Time passes so quickly. A member of my church recently quipped, “The days are long, but the years are short.” She may be right.
Some days seem to never end, but before you know it, another Christmas has come and gone. Another football season has ended. Another school year has begun. And so on. Time seems to be rushing forward like an unstoppable tsunami. My kids were just toddlers, and now they are teenagers. You may have grandchildren, but remember when your kids were little. Time zooms by, doesn’t it?
The Bible describes time speeding by for us from an eternal perspective, and it sure is humbling. We are put in our place: “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14)
The question that lies before me and before you is, “What have I to show for my life at the end?”
Before long, another decade will pass. How will I invest it? How will I spend it? How will you? Will we even have another decade?
Will I give myself away for the Kingdom of God? Will I invest my remaining time in the mission of Jesus to reach the world with the Gospel? Will my life result in people knowing God and growing in grace? Will I prepare for Heaven with the days I have left?
I will spend more time in heaven than on this earth by far. Maybe we live to be 100 or a little over in this existence, but eternity is forever. I mean, I spent thirteen years of elementary and high school preparing for “the real world.” Shouldn’t I then spend 70 to 90 years of my life getting ready for “the real, real world” beyond this one?
It is certainly appealing just to see the sights, live for today, relax, and enjoy what you have now. However, the Biblical descriptions of Heaven are remarkably and breathtakingly amazing. Which would mean that this world is like the kiddie pool of excitement and heaven would then be the equivalent of the greatest, most awesome water park ever! Shouldn’t I prepare for Heaven now, trying to take as many folks as possible with me there through the Gospel of Jesus? Shouldn’t I follow the teaching of the Bible and forgive others, minister to those in need, engage the world with the Gospel, be on mission for Jesus, listen to the Holy Spirit, and honor God the Father with my life?
This world is hard and rough, as you know. I interact with so many people who have broken hearts, relationships, and lives. I’ve had my share, for sure. I heard a story once, though, of a very sad, depressed, and overwhelmed man who was walking down the sidewalk of a city and nearly ran into a big block of stone. He walked around the large square rock and found a man chiseling away on it as hard as he could. “Hey, Sir! What are you doing with this block in the middle of the sidewalk? Are you crazy?” The chiseler looked up and blinked at the man trying to walk down the street. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But you see this big church building here beside us? This block goes on top of that church. I have to work on it down here for it to fit up there.” That statement struck the walking man deep in his heart as he struggled with life.
“Maybe God is working on me down here, so I will fit up there with Him…”
When the apostle Paul left this world, he had given everything he had for Jesus. Have you? Have I?
Towards the end of his life, Paul wrote some very poignant words to Timothy, his son in the ministry. “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).
This is how I want the rest of my life to be, invested and spent for the glory of God and the mission of the Gospel. Because one day, like Jesus, I will rise from the dead and be with Him in Heaven! Hallelujah!
The clock is ticking. Won’t you join me? WL