“The loving kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him; who keep His commandments.” Psalm 103:17-18
A friend was telling us a story of two men-one, his dad; the other, his uncle. When he was a boy, his uncle would always ride around the block looking for a parking meter with time left on it. His dad, in contrast, would always find an empty meter, park, and when he left would fill it up for the next person. His uncle lived on borrowed time, while his dad paid the price for someone else!
In the movie, Going in Style, three retirees who have lost their pension begin to count up how many years they have left on earth. They do this because they plan to rob a bank and “borrow” the amount of cash they feel they are due! They don’t want to take too much, but they don’t want to have to rob the bank again if they take too little! They were “borrowing” from the bank what they thought was owed them. When I think about it, all of us are living on borrowed time, and we really are not promised or owed anything other than today. We can’t count up how much we might need to live because we don’t know.
This past Sunday, Randy and I returned to Bowdon First United Methodist for homecoming. It was like turning back the clock for us. As I looked around at the pews, I could visualize where everyone sat on Sunday morning when we served there. Now there are different faces in some of the pews where friends sat. Some of those faces are of their children, grandchildren, even great grandchildren.
These folks who were missing are like the dad in the story above. They filled empty meters for those who would come after them – they paid the price for someone else! This is how the kingdom of God advances. We live for Jesus the time we are given and don’t worry about the time we have left.
“I will thank God for the day and the moment I have.” Jim Valvano