Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”. (Eccl.12:1)
“My hairline’s moving, but I am standing still …”
These words, the opening lines of Mark Lowry’s parodied version of an otherwise beautiful song by Michael W. Smith called “Place in this World”, always bring a wry smile to my face when I hear them. In the song, Mark Lowry describes his search for a (plastic) surgeon willing to work overtime to help him find his “face in this world”. In a sense, it captures our futile attempts to arrest or slow down the inexorable passage of time, as it gradually dawns on us that life as we know it is finite and that, indeed, our days on this planet that we call home are numbered. A sobering thought indeed!
Recently, at a church sermon I attended, the pastor asked us to shout out, in unison, the first names of our parents. Shouts of “Peter!” “Paul!” “Jane!” “Mary!” “Susan!” “Brian!” filled the air. Next, he asked us to do the same for our grandparents. A few more names rang out. We were then asked to do the same for our great-grandparents. The shouts were considerably less. By the time we got to our great-great-grandparents, most of us were silent. The moral? Four generations down the road, and no-one will even remember your name …
Sobering, right?
The question “Who am I, and why am I here?” is an age-old question, one which every single one of us comes face to face with at some point or other in our life’s journey. The search for meaning, significance and purpose has seen mankind devise every kind of scheme – some good, some bad, and some downright ugly – to make this seemingly fleeting life count for something. “Life is short and sweet”, we are told. We are constantly urged to “Party like there’s no tomorrow”; “Live life to the fullest”; “Live out loud”; “Dance like nobody’s watching”; “Make waves”; – the list is endless. All this to the end (as I recently read in somebody’s interesting bio that I came across on Twitter) that our tombstones may finally and defiantly declare: “I was here!”
So, how can we make our brief appearance here on earth count? Wish I could say I had all the answers! Like I said, it’s an age-old question. I am, however, reminded of a rather sad narrative, seemingly capturing the musings of an old man lying on his deathbed and reflecting back upon his life. It goes as follows:
“First, I was dying to finish my high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working. Then I was dying to marry and have children. And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough so I could go back to work. But then I was dying to retire. And now I am dying… And suddenly I realize… I forgot to live!”There is wisdom, then, in the adage and advice to “live out loud” (and all the rest of them!) and to do it NOW, while we still can – and not wait until it’s too late. So – do go ahead and enjoy life while you can. Slow down. Take time off to stop and smell the roses. Hold a loved one’s hand. Speak a kind word. Delight in the company of others. Laugh … dance … sing … play.
Thank God for places like Maisha, where you can do all this and more! But I digress …
(That was a brief commercial!)
Michael W. Smith, in his song (the original version – not Mark Lowry’s comically warped version of it!) captures the yearning of a soul crying out for meaning and purpose in life – for reason, for vision, for hope, for fulfillment, and for identity. The song describes a desperate search and a longing to find “my place in this world”. It is a place we all long to find. But where, what and how?
Micah 6:8 says: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Looking to leave an indelible mark on this world? Act justly. Love mercy. Walk humbly with your God.
Your God. That’s where it all starts. He longs to be your God, to work in and through you to make your life count. Are you willing to let Him in? Because – truth be told – without Him, life has no real meaning or enduring purpose!
Finally: Another song (it’s been a song theme this time around, hasn’t it?) – whose words I find to be at once timeless and contemporary in the way that they capture the attitude of many of us today, is the song “Tomorrow” by Bebe and Cece Winans (or is it Tamia? not sure who sang it first!). The song paints a picture of the Lord lovingly reaching out to us – but the response, unfortunately, more often than not is: Not today … maybe tomorrow!
“Tomorrow, I’ll give my life tomorrow, I thought about today But, it’s so much easier to say, Tomorrow!”But, as the song goes on to say: “Who promised you tomorrow? … Who said tomorrow would ever come for you? … Better choose the Lord today! … Tomorrow is not promised. Don’t let this moment slip away! … Your tomorrow could very well be here today!”
I don’t know about you, but I want my life to count for something. When my time on this earth is done, I want to leave, not just a fleeting memory, but a lasting legacy. God forbid that I should look back in regret at a life characterized by wasted days and missed opportunities. It is for this reason that I am now firmly resolved, by letting Him in and turning the reins fully over to Him – and by letting justice and mercy propel my actions – to live out loud, and start enjoying my tomorrow today!
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