Numbering Our Days - Part 2

Many people have a problem spending their days worrying, and running after penultimate goals. They have difficulty knowing the difference between means and ends, between that which will crumble into dust and that which will endure. Jesus told His listeners:

Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear … your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.(Matthew 6:25, 32-33)

Jesus also told the story of an unnamed rich man and a beggar named Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The story is radical. Both rich men and beggars must die, but their lot on the other side could be vastly different from their lot on earth. The rich man had skills to count his hoardings and possessions. Even on the other side, he could still count (he mentions his five brothers), and he expects Lazarus to be like a servant to him when he requests Abraham to send him with some water! The man had not changed, for his sinful character had become frozen on the other side.

Lazarus must also have counted his days. His days on earth were extremely miserable; he lived in the shadows of the margins, and his sores refused to heal. He must have told himself that the end was surely not far away, that there would be an end to his sufferings. The rich man, on the other hand, would have thought that there would be no end to his pleasures. He did not have the godly wisdom to count his days.

St Catherine's Monastery in Egypt is at the site of the burning bush, Mt Sinai, where Moses met God. Monks have been living there for the last 1,500 years. When they died, they would be buried for a while, and then their bones would be unearthed and kept in the chapel. Visitors will see heaps of skulls gathered over the centuries. They serve to be a reminder that our days on earth need to be framed by eternity. They help us articulate the ancient prayer: "Teach us to count our days."

Our churches today have no skull heaps nor graveyards to give us wisdom, though some have columbaria, built more for money than for wisdom, and somewhat removed from congregational life. Still, as congregations, we must collectively and individually seek to live wisely, learn to count down, and look forward to the days that cannot be counted in the 'forever' reality of God. As the years pass us by, let us learn to frame our days with the eternity of God.

Reflective questions:Read Psalm 102. Consider the transient nature of the phrase "my days" (v. 3, 11) and the eternal nature of the phrase "your years" that refers to God (v. 27). Why is it important to frame our earthly days within God's eternal years? How can we do this in terms of attitudes, habits, spiritual disciplines and daily choices?

Coming up next: "When I asked the late John Stott what he considered to be the greatest problem in the church, he gave a one-word answer – superficiality. I agree with him...."