The number 10,784 is a very important number to me. The intrinsic value of the number is something I cherish deeply, for without it my relationships with others, especially those I love profoundly, would be nonexistent. However, tomorrow, the number 10,784 will be insufficient, because tomorrow, May 17th, 2011, I need my number to be 10,785.
The number is the amount of days I have lived on this Earth. This coming November 5th, I will leap across the bridge to the 30's and bid farewell to my 20's. I do not say this with a saddened heart but with true amazement. I cannot believe my life has expired so quickly. James 4:14 affirms my disbelief, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." This verse describes a vapor expelled and then dissipated. Depending upon the right conditions, the process occurs rapidly and the vapor disapears. In our lives, compared to the grand scheme of eternity, our lives are miniscule. Therefore, it is important we live spiritually to the fullest. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. We must live life:
1) With Christ in View. Paul talks about this in the Book of Philippians. He states in chapter 3:8, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ," and in chapter 3:13-14, "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Christ the object of Paul's faith should also be the object of our faith. Paul refused to be burdened down by his pre-converted life. He also refused to be burden down by past achievements. He lived each day in the footsteps of His Savior, depending on Christ's sufficiency and not his own. Many Christians today do not live with Christ in view, because they are depending on their own strength. Some even depend on their own strength to do God's work. Unfortunately, many times we become frustrated because we do not first go to God in prayer. Simply stated, living for Christ is believing He is alive both potentially and kinetically. What comfort and joy are expressed in the life of an individual who vigorously lives with Christ as his focus!
2) With Eternity in View. Colossians 3:1-3 states, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God, set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Also Matthew 6:19-21, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Through entertainment, worldliness, and lust, we live each day for the moment. While essentials for health and well-being are vital, the extra-curricular of lfe can be a distraction to our vision, keeping our eyes from the essentials of Heaven. The value we have for tangible items or for people should be synonymous with the value that God places on tangible items or people. Our value system determines our worldview. Satan knows all too well on how to make Christians ineffective. By being deceived by the rewards of the corruptible, we trade the valuable for the worthless, which in turn then perverts our worldview. Satan will try to make us ineffective for God by tempting us to be worried about the treasures of this earth instead of the treasures of Heaven. So decieving, so subtle is the attack on our perspective of eternity, it is only through a Biblical paradigm shift that our values become Christ-centered once again. In other words, those who engross themselves in the Word of God and those who intensely desire Christ, are the ones who have the right perspective of eternity. It was said of Moses in Hebrews 11:26, he esteemed "the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward."
3) With the Rapture or Death in Mind. The imminence of the Rapture (snatching away of the Church before the Tribulation) was enough for the disciples to believe Christ's return may happen in their lifetime. Though the infinite God is not subject to time, we are from our mortal standpoint around two thousand years closer. However, if the Rapture does not occur in our lifetime, then we should expect the certainty of death. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27,"...it is appointed unto men once to die...". Though men and women throughout the ages have tried, they cannot escape death. Moses wrote a song about this and his song is found in Psalms 90. Part of the song, Psalm 90:9-12 states, "For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." How important is it to "number our days;" that is to live them to the fullest and to not take for granted we will have tomorrow. Things for Christ that can be done today should be done for Him. Yes, we are restrained by time and circumstances, but our lives should always be persevering for Christ, focusing on the important things, the eternal things. Tomorrow, will be number 10,785 in my life. Today may be the last day of my life, or maybe tomorrow. The truth is no man knows when their names will be called by Christ; but for now, on this Earth, for this day, I plan on living life to the fullest.
In Christ,
Pastor Jon
Philippians 2:15
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