“Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.  You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.  Each man’s life is but a breath.”  Psalm 39:4-5

I’ve thought all day about something to write as the anniversary of my birth rolls by and people keep telling me I’m another year older.  So far my mind doesn’t seem to be putting the thoughts together, so I guess I’ll write a rambling blog post. 🙂

Some days I pray that God would show me my life’s end has arrived, but not today.
Some days I wish that the number of my days were complete, but not today.
Some days I don’t think my life is fleeting enough, but not today.
Today I wonder what makes my life “but a breath” and how can that have real value.

Today, life is just a(n) . . .

Bonus
Reminder
Encouragement
Attitude
Training
Honor

Since none of us really know the number of our days, then we ought to live as if today life is a bonus!  Oh I know, some people are told by a doctor that they only have a certain amount of time to live but in reality even that is just an educated guess not a certainty.  Would our life be lived differently if we knew for certain we were living on borrowed time?  What would we change if we really believed that today was a bonus day of life?  Since God says your life is but a breath, why not live like today is just a bonus!

Life as just a breath means that today life is just a reminder!  The fact that there is a today is a reminder that God is patient.  When people in the first century began to question if Jesus would really return since he hadn’t yet done so, God tell us that He is not slow in keeping his promises but he is patient, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.  Today is a reminder of God’s purpose for giving another day — an opportunity for you and I to share the gospel of Jesus with someone so that they might believe in Jesus, repent, and have their sins washed away.

Knowing God’s patience — his long-suffering on behalf of you and I — should mean today life is just an encouragement!  Even knowing ourself, what an encouragement to experience God showering his love on us that he would call us his children and fill us with his spirit.  Not only is today an encouragement from God to us, it ought to be an encouragement from us to others.  God tells us in the book of Hebrews to “encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today.”  Live today as if it is just another opportunity to be encouraged and to encourage others.

If today is easy for you, you can be sure there will be a today that is not.  It is especially in those tough times that we can learn from, and lean on, Jesus as we see from his example that today life is just an attitude!  Can you imagine the help wanted ad for the job Jesus came to earth to do?  Who in their right mind would apply?  Paul tells us that we should have the same attitude as Christ Jesus who humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross.  None of us are called to take the sin of the world upon ourself and die — it would really do no good as it would only cover the payment we owe and nothing more.  Yet how hard is it for you and I to take on the attitude of obedience when the day ahead of us looks harder and more painful than we would like?  If today life is just an attitude, why not make it the attitude of Jesus — one of humility and obedience.

It is often said, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”  With that in mind, we ought to consider that today life is just a training for whatever lies ahead!  It  doesn’t matter if tomorrow is another day of serving, ministering to, and loving the people around you or if it is worship in heaven at the very throne of God, today is just a training to prepare you for your tomorrow.  Unless there is internet access in heaven you are still alive here on earth to be reading this so today is just training to help you press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of you.  When today is just training it is not about being perfect today, it is about pressing on toward the mark — toward the perfection, the maturity, we have in Christ Jesus when we see him face to face.

As we consider the task God has given us of sharing the good news of his son, Jesus Christ, with the world, it should be concluded that today life is just an honor!  As I watched some of the television coverage of the Olympic games, athlete after athlete would talk about what an honor it was to represent their country at such an event.  As we consider today life is just a bonus, a reminder, an encouragement, an attitude, and a training, we ought to realize that a life lived in service to the King of kings is an honor.  Jesus said that whatever we’ve done for the “least of these my brethren, you’ve done for me”.  How does that change our approach to today if we recognize our serving of “the least” is really the honor of serving our King?

Today, life is just a BREATH! 

Well, I’ve rambled long enough as the anniversary of my birth draws to a close.  I pray that I can take to heart what God has given me to write down.  I pray also that it is useful to you as you spend time with God and allow Him to evaluate your life and the BREATH that is your today!