I have a big birthday today. 40.
One thought I had was all that Ecclesiastes has to say about youth, age and days:
I only have a few days from God to make the most of life on this earth. (Ecclesiastes 6:12)
All the days God gives me are to be used to live a full life. (Ecclesiastes 6:3)
I should pursue joy with my life. (Ecclesiastes 8:15)
I should try to do good all the days God gives me on this earth. (Ecclesiastes 2:3)
I should be careful with what I give my heart to in the days of my youth. (Ecclesiastes 11:9)
I’ve been, by God’s grace, able to live a full life so far. I’m blessed beyond anything I deserve with a faithful wife, fun children, a job full of joy, a work that is beyond this world and a life that is rich.
I also think about the mortality of days. I asked my Mom and others some facts about my dad and grandfathers when they were 40 and the churches they were pastoring at the time. At age 40…
My dad was pastoring Canaan Baptist Church in St. Louis, MO and I was a sophomore in high school.
My Gpa Auxier was pastoring in Sterling, IL and would soon move to Mt. Vernon to pastor a church he would retire from (and my dad was either graduating or about to graduate high school).
My Gpa Lemay was enjoyed a fruitful ministry at Park Avenue Baptist in Mt. Vernon (and my Mom was a sophomore in high school).
Why these facts? Because these men are gone. My dad would pass away at 48 and both of my grandfathers have passed away in recent years. To know the lives they lived makes my desire to make every day count all the more pressing.
So, thanks for indulging my meditations on this birthday. Would you mind praying for me, that God’s grace would flow in the next chapters as free and rich as it has in these first few? Ask God to make my life useful for His purposes and for the good of others. Thanks.
