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The
Meaning & Value of Today
.
Greg Laurie
Senior Pastor, Harvest Christian
Fellowship
"Teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." ~ Psalm 90:12
Life is filled with
opportunities, but the big question is what we do with them.
Do we let them slip by, saying, “Maybe next time. There is
always another day”?
Or, do we seize
them? We may not have as much time as we think.
"Teach us to
number our days" Meaning
“But rather the meaning of the petition is, that God would teach
us to number our days, as if the present one was the last. For we cannot boast
of tomorrow, we know not but this day, or night, our souls may be required of
us.
“But the sense is, that God would teach us seriously to meditate
on, and consider of, the shortness of our days. That they are but as a
shadow...and to observe how unprofitably we have spent them, which may put us
upon redeeming time, and also to take notice of the goodness of God, that has
followed us all our days, which may lead us to repentance, and engage us in the
fear of God."
"That we may apply our hearts to wisdom" Meaning
Again, John Gills commentary explains wonderfully the what and
why behind applying your heart to wisdom - "to seek the way of
salvation by Christ - to seek to Christ, the wisdom of God, (for it to fear the
Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom) and to walk circumspectly, not as
fools, but as wise...
“For unless a man is taught of God, and by his Spirit convinced
of sin, righteousness, and judgment, he will never be concerned, in good
earnest, about a future state.
“Nor inquire the way of salvation, nor heartily apply to Christ
for it: he may number his days, and consider the shortness of them, and apply
his heart to folly, and not wisdom."
Dr. Leslie
Weatherhead calculated the average length of a life using the hours of one day
to illustrate the importance of recognizing the value of time.
He concluded that
if your age is 15, the time is 10:25 a.m.
If your age is 20, the time is 11:34.
If your age is 25, the time is 12:42 p.m. If you’re 30, the time
is 1:51.
If you’re 35, the time is 3:00.
At age 45, the time is 5:15.
If you’re 50, the time is 6:25.
By age 55, the time is 7:24.
If you’re 60, the time is 8:42.
If you’re 65, the time is 9:51.
And if you you’re 70 the time is 11 p.m.
Psalm 90:12 reminds us, “Teach us to
number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom” (NKJV).
Or as the Living Bible puts it, “Teach us to number our days
and recognize how few they are; help us to spend them as we should.”
Ephesians 5:15 says, “So be careful
how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise” (NLT).
Jesus told the
story of a man who went on a journey and left his money with his servants. This
was not an uncommon thing in those days.
A wealthy man or a
ruler would have many servants in his household, from those who performed basic
labor to those who managed the financial affairs of his household, even his
business.
In many cases some
of the man’s servants would be better educated and skilled than he was.
When the owner
would go on a journey, he would leave full authority in the hands of these key
servants, who would have the ancient equivalent of a power of attorney.
So, Jesus described
a scenario in which a wealthy man went on a journey and left the key servants
in charge of his possessions.
It’s difficult for
us to know exactly what sum he left them, but one possibility is that he gave
the equivalent of $5,000 to the first servant, $2,000 to the second servant,
and $1,000 to the third.
What Are You Investing Your Days & Time In?
What is Jesus’
story saying to us? I think it’s quite obvious.
Jesus is like that
wealthy man who goes on a journey, which spans the day he left this earth to
the day he returns in the Second Coming.
We are the servants
he has invested in, and we are to take what he has given us and use it for his
glory while we await his return.
In the New
Testament a word that is often used for “slave” or “servant” is
the Greek word doulos.
It’s a term that
describes a unique class of servant, not someone who was made that way by
constraint or by force.
A doulos
was someone who had been freed by their master yet still chose to serve out of
love.
The servant was so
thankful for this pardon that he or she would willfully choose to serve.
The apostle Paul
often referred to himself as a doulos, and that is what we are as
followers of Jesus Christ.
Christ has paid an
incredible debt for us. He has pardoned us. He has forgiven us.
And now we should
become his voluntary servants, not because we have to but because we want to –
because we love him.
We recognize that
he has instilled certain things in our lives that we are to use for his glory.
Certain gifts. Certain talents. Certain resources. Everything.
Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple
of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not
belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God
with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19–20 NLT).
Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must
give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23 NLT).
This doesn’t mean
that we must take a vow of poverty.
Our possessions
belong to God. Everything is his.
In Jesus’ story,
the first servant took what he had, invested it, and received a 100 percent
return.
He doubled his
master’s investment. The second, though he had less, did the same thing.
This demonstrates
that it isn’t a person’s talent that matters as much as how he or she uses that
talent.
God never demands
from us the abilities we don’t have. But He does demand that we should use, to
the full, the abilities that we do possess.
We may not be equal
in talent, but we should be equal in effort.
Take what God has given
to you and do the most that you can with it for his glory.
God can do a lot
with a little. If you don’t believe me, just ask the boy with the five loaves
and two fish who gave everything he had to Jesus.
It didn’t seem like
a lot, but Jesus used them to feed a hungry multitude. Jesus can take a little,
bless it and multiply it. He can use it beyond our wildest dreams.
How to "Number Your Days"
If we will humble
ourselves, take what we have and offer it to God, if we will be willing to do
what he has placed before us and be faithful in the little things, then he will
give us more to do.
I would rather try
and fail than never try at all. Any time you take a chance, you can fail. But
it’s better to try than to never take chances and never have anything happen in
your life.
So, seize the day.
Seize the moment. Seize the opportunities before you. Don’t put it off too
long, because you may not have as much time as you think.
Be productive with
your life. Be productive with your time. Seize the opportunities God has given
you.
Taken from my weekly column at WorldNetDaily.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie,
go to www.harvest.org
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
and
Listen to Greg Laurie's daily broadcast on OnePlace.com.
Watch Greg Laurie's
weekly television broadcast on LightSource.com.
Pastor Greg Laurie serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian
Fellowship, which has campuses in Southern California and Hawaii. He
is the author of more than 70 books, hosts the nationally syndicated radio
broadcast A New Beginning, and is the founder of Harvest
Crusades and Harvest at Home.
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