Thinking About My Sixtieth

“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Psalm 90:12

Tomorrow is my 60^th birthday, so I have been thinking a lot about these words from Psalm 90 - “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”  How does one do that?  How does God want me to number my days?  As of tomorrow I will be 60.  I will have spent 38 of those years married to Linda.  I have been a Pastor for 34 years.  As of tomorrow, I will have lived 21,916 days.  (That included 16 leap years).  I have lived in Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas and Germany.  I have served 6 congregations and 1 campus ministry.  We have raised 4 children.  They are now grown.  We have six grandchildren and a seventh on the way.  This is the last day of my 6^th decade.  I have one day left… till I am 60.  I have one more day.  I have yet another day.  How should I number my days.

I think maybe there are a number of ways to do that.  One way would be take life one day at a time. That’s the way you are given your days.  We spend or should I say, waste too much time worrying about tomorrow and not enough living the day God has given us.  Jesus said,  “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  I like the way the NIV translates that – “each day has enough trouble of it’s own.”  Worry is a big time waster.  What good does it do?  It robs us of the opportunities God gives us right now.  Jesus asked the question - And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?   Much better is to give your worries to the Lord and live the day He gives you.  After all, we don’t need to know what tomorrow holds.  We only need to know that the God who loved us and gave His Son for us – He holds tomorrow!

Another way to count our days might also be with a sense of urgency.  A member of the church in Flower Mound lived his life that way.  Al Senter was a teacher of the Scripture… teaching adult Bible class in several churches for over 60 years. For the last several years Al battled heart disease.  He had a real sense that his days were numbered.  So he spent his last years doing a 168 day podcast through the whole Scripture and then writing a two volume book based on those podcast… so that others could continue to grow through his teaching.   Because he knew that his days were few – he had a sense of urgency about getting that finished.  Could that be what Paul meant when He wrote to the Ephesians – “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil?”

Perhaps numbering our days means welcoming each day with gratitude and praise to God.   Perhaps it means seeing each new day and all the ones that have already passed as gifts from God.   The truth is God has been so good to me – loving parents, great sisters, a beautiful loving wife, adult children who love an believe in Jesus, two wonderful daughters in law and one great son in law, 6 grandchildren, 6 churches that have all been a joy to serve, giving me four years in my dream ministry – as campus pastor, a life time of friends (many of whom I am still in contact with), the opportunity to serve in Germany and to travel all over the world, the great privilege of preaching and teaching about Jesus and more.  As a Pastor the Lord has given me the privilege of being a part of every important event in people’s lives.  In difficult times, like the death of parents, He has watched over me and my family.  All the bazillions of times that I have done, said or thought something wrong – He has forgiven me again and again.  I could go on.  He has been so good to me.  So perhaps each new day can be greeted with “Good Morning Lord!”  No “Good Lord, it’s morning!”

Finally, I think numbering my days means looking forward to what God has promised.  For because of Jesus, when my last day in this life comes, He has in store for me an eternity of new days without number.  Jesus promised,  In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.   I am really looking forward to that day!  Amen!