“Lost wealth may be replaced by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance, but lost time is gone forever.”
– Samuel Smiles (Leaves of Gold, pg. 170)
If you were to make a list ranking the best gifts you receive from God, what would be on the list, and where? To the best of my memory I have never tried to make such a list, though the idea has me curious. One thing of which I am quite confident is that my list would include the gift of time, and now in my older years I am inclined to put that gift pretty high on the list.
As of the date of this post, I am at 22,909 days of life. That’s a lot of days. Obviously I have no recollection of the days during my infancy, and many others during my youth were lived with little sense of life’s transitory nature. Eventually, though, I came into an awareness of God’s wisdom written in Psalm 90: “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” The psalmist is not advocating for a ledger-style record of our daily living, but rather an awareness that every person has a limited number of days to live, and no day is recoverable once it has passed.
The phrase “save time” has long struck me as a bit odd. Not that I don’t understand the concept. In most cases it would only be prudent to spend no more time than necessary on a task, and anything that can expedite the task is said to “save time.” But time can’t be saved, like we save money by putting it away so it is available later when we need it. Every one of us is given 24 hours of currency to spend every day. It will either be spent responsibly or carelessly, wisely or foolishly. Regardless, the currency will be spent.
It leads me to wonder how I might have spent day number 7,386, when I was a young adult driven strongly by selfishness and worldly ways. Or how I spent day number 13,595, when I was trying to serve a small church, make my way through seminary, and be a father and husband all at the same time. Of course, answers to those questions will escape me. I am sure that some of those days were at least partially productive, while others bore little of any value. One thing I know: none of my days are recoverable. However I have chosen to spend them is permanently fixed in the course of human history.
Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” This day is God’s gift to you and to me. Let us rejoice, be glad, and pray by God’s grace that we will use the gift in a way that honors the Lord.
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 