You think you're getting old...

As I've matured, I've learned to appreciate some Bible passages that I found difficult to understand when I was a child.

I'm still amazed--and increasingly intrigued--by the account in the book of Genesis of the stunningly long lives of Adam and Seth and Jared and Methuselah. Each of them lived more than 900 years.We're talking serious geezers here!

Compared to them, I'm a 60-something whippersnapper. Which is an interesting way to look at the autumn of my life.

Living in the now

As I grow older, there are times when my mind retreats into the past--back to the "good old days." Then, I was stronger. Then, I was faster. Then, my hair was jet black. Then, all things seemed possible. It doesn't take much for an unhealthy nostalgia to smother us and, in the process, extinguish our spirit and zest for today--and tomorrow.

In His wisdom, God teaches us to number our days. Not for the sake of tallying them up on some tote board. But, rather, to live each day to the fullest. To live in each moment. To be "present and accounted for" every single day with God.

So whether we count our days in centuries, as did the biblical characters of old, or in decades, as is commonplace for us today, remember that your life is in God's hands. He is the architect of the quality and the duration of our earthly existence.

When you're young, a day seems to last forever. When you've reached years of maturity, a year seems fleeting. But temporal time can't hold a candle to the glory of eternity with God. King David understood the distinction--and the hope: "For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand elsewhere," he wrote in Psalm 84:10. "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness."

So here's my advice today:

Number your days. And thank God for every single one of them.