Footprints on the Sands of Time

“It's about the journey--mine and yours--and the lives we can touch, the legacy we can leave, and the world we can change for the better.”
― Tony Dungy

What are the names of your great-grandparents? Can you name all eight without asking anybody? I can only name one. How about great-great-grandparents? I don’t have a clue. If we can’t remember the names of our family members just a couple generations ago, our forbearers will probably not know our names within a hundred years either.

Scripture describes our lives as a mist, a hand breadth, a breath, smoke, and a shadow. Even if we are to live 100 years, it is but a moment compared to eternity. Moses wrote “so teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12). The brevity of life begs the question, are we numbering our days by setting the right priorities to live for the “long tomorrow” rather than the “short today”? 

Determined to make the most out of my remaining days, I intend to intentionally focus on cultivating several areas of life:

•  Prayer. In conjunction with a devotion to the Word, I want my life to be marked with a dependence/desperation on prayer; knowing the Lord will respond in mighty ways.
• Time. I desire to use the time for studying the Word, serving the Lord in ministry, and building relationships with others. I want to avoid wasting my days with frivolous pastimes and pursuits. 
•  Money. I will use the resources entrusted to me to further the Kingdom, investing in His work in the local church and around the world. 
•  People. I will love my wife and train my child(ren) to follow the Lord. I will strive to make disciples who make disciples. I will love my neighbors and engage those apart from Christ with the hope of sharing the good news.

The world is rapidly changing but our mission as the church is not. Individually and corporately we must stay focused on eternal pursuits. After giving the Ephesian church specific instructions on holy living, the Apostle Paul said “look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15). This is just as critical in 2013 as it was in the 1^st century.

I don’t mind if my name is forgotten within a couple generations after I have died, but I pray that my life will have been lived well and that a legacy for Christ will be left behind. May I make this prayer my own- O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. (Psalm 78:17-18). 

Life is short. Eternity is long. Let us live accordingly.

"Let us be banded together as one man; let us contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints; let us pray with fervor, let us live in holiness, let us preach constantly, and preach with fire, and let us so live, that we may impress our age, and leave our footprints on the sands of time."

 - Charles Spurgeon