2 Timothy 4:7 – I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

THEME OF THE DAY. MAKE IT COUNT – STARTING TODAY.  As one gets older, two things start to occur in our thinking.  And it doesn’t take long for them to become thoughts to ponder and that often. Now before I identify those two signs of aging, they are an inseparable marriage in the Christian who is passionate about leaving a mark for Christ in their life. However, they are poles apart in the non-Christian and lukewarm, backslidden Christians.  In fact, the second sign of aging is absent in the non-Christian and never thought of by the lukewarm, backslidden Christian. So, what are the aging signs?

First, the brevity of life really hits home as we get older. Maybe it’s a little touch of grey in the hair, the soreness of the body that wasn’t there before or some trouble reading or remembering things.  Whatever it may be, the words of King Solomon are becoming upfront and personal, “Brevity, brevity, all of life is brevity” (Ecclesiastes 1:1-2). The Apostle James would offer us more clarity about the fleeting nature of life – “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). The older we get, the more we say, “My, how fast life goes by.” The Christian living aware of the fast-fading nature of their life will then discover the second sign of aging and that in the form of a question.

The second sign of aging in a Christian will be the question, “Am I leaving a mark for the Lord Jesus Christ in my home, my church, and my community? This is only natural in the life of a healthy Christian.  They long to depart this life with a testimony and legacy found in the Apostle Paul in today’s scripture.  And really, my friends, that is why we are alive. We are not left on earth to simply live out a life of pleasure-seeking, fulfilling our “bucket lists”, raising a family, completing a career, and satisfying ourselves with earthly achievements and acquisitions. No, as Christians, we are living out a purposeful life on a mission and that is to leave the sweet fragrance of Jesus Christ everywhere we go until the day we depart this earth (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Now, for the sensitive Christian asking the question, “Am I leaving a mark for the Lord Jesus Christ in my home, my church, my community, and my vocation?”, there may be a sense of regret over past failings.  Perhaps we look around at an empty nest and lament over too many times of neglecting the eternal and spiritual and choosing the fleeting and worldly in the raising of our children.  Or maybe it was being too driven at work and it became our god, robbing us of family time and time to serve the Lord in our churches.  Still yet may be regret over the foolish use of time wasted on things which will not matter on the Day of Judgment.  Whatever the remorse, let’s take heart with these words from the prophet Joel – “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). God can and will take whatever life is left in us and help us re-calibrate and change our priorities so we may finish well; like the Apostle Paul.  Yes, we cannot go back and redo life.  I would like to in my areas, but the past is the past.  Missed opportunities are forever gone, but that doesn’t mean we cannot seize the new ones of today.   We still may leave a mark for Christ in our families, churches, and communities starting today.  God’s grace can redeem our past and enable us to live fully and purposefully for Him today.  Remember, a life of Christ-honoring influence is possible by our resolve to have such a life and it starts today, right now.

PRAYER: “Father, help me to live a life of worship beginning today.”

QUOTE: “A life of Christ-honoring obedience is built one day at a time.”