Does it seem to you that time is flying right past us? Even without our permission? Remember the riddle: ‘Why did the moron throw his watch out the window? To see time fly!’ The older we grow, it seems true– time is driving in the fast-lane. No longer are the years 365 days long, 12 long months and such. No, somewhere between global warming, El Nino and Daylight Savings Time something happened to our time clocks. Maybe they were wound too tightly, squeezing the seconds and minutes, compacting them into a “mini-hour” thus making each day a little bit shorter. We’ll see soon, no doubt, shorter days, months disappearing so quickly and before we know it—yes, way too soon—Christmas will be knocking on the door again. Who knows if we will start celebrating two Christmases each year?” (Just a thought)!
Well, Birthdays are the same way. By the time we get accustomed to the big 6-0 or such, we hear that dreaded song being sung again. In whatever language it is sung, it still has that same nasty ring….”you’re getting older, older, older!” It just means this: Father Time and Mother Nature have pulled their ugly trick on us again….and everyone tells us “you are looking older”. “But just yesterday, when I was 39…”, we protest! What do they care? Some folks are just too honest about such things! And about all we can say, “Yes, time is flying so quickly, and I’ve earned all of these wrinkles!”
Who started all this counting anyway? History tells us when people had no way of keeping track and marking time, little attention was given to the idea of aging. Only kings’ courts and for wars’ sake, there seem to be a need to ‘mark time.’ But, folks began to realize people grew older as time passed, and then they just died. There was no official calendar for centuries. Then someone begin marking the signs of the moon, the movement of the sun and stars, stacking stones, notching sticks, etc. Moon cycles were noticed and the changing seasons were recorded. Birthdays of the nobility were recorded, more and more. Folks began to say: This time last year…’ And they would mark it off someway. Soon calendars were put together and through the years, we begin to have a concrete record of time. The Julian calendar became the accepted one for most of the world in about 46 BC. That’s when “time really began to fly”. Up until that time, no one really noticed or seemed to care.
We know we can do nothing to stop the clocks of time. Our lives are but a dash in the span of history. Shakespeare said (Macbeth): “Life is but a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more”. It is recorded in Holy Scripture words like this: “consider those lilies of the fields out there….they are here today and gone tomorrow ….and such is the way of man (Luke 12: 24-26) {paraphrased}. We’ve seen the flowers swaying in the wind one day, then the very next day those petals have been blown across the fields and disappeared. That is the picture of man and his brief time upon earth. When we consider this, we can agree – “Those birthdays are important after all, I suppose. Let’s keep on celebrating.”
We understand God’s time-table is completely different from ours. We only know in part; yet He is all-knowing and observes how we are ‘redeeming our time’. It is His desire and directive that we use our time wisely, not wasting it. Once that hour is past, it is gone forever, never to return. And we can’t afford to lose or misuse any of it. It is our most precious commodity. Much more valuable than money!
We know that life is made up of a collection of time segments (years), with a series of events glued to each other, forming a substance we call “life”. The longer one lives, the longer the segment of events become….”the clothes-line of life.” I think Abe Lincoln had a good perspective on life: “It’s not the years in your life that count; it’s the life you spend in those years that does.” What our Lord promises us is “eternal, everlasting life” where birthdays will not be reminding us of aging. Time will not matter in heaven.
So, let time fly with the wind. Rack up as many birthdays as you can! Eat the cake and ice cream and have a wonderful time. For just this one day – forget diets! Pop the balloons and blow the candles! Celebrate Abundant Life in Christ, whether it is 70, 80, 90 or more. Thank the Lord for the years you have behind you. And thank Him for the days you have standing before you. Celebrate today as if it a gift from God. IT IS A GIFT! Serve Him with gladness and to the fullest. Make wise use of the fleeting time before you. It may be later than you think!
Good News April 30, 2025
Bill Crider Chaplain
Minden Medical Center