On a journey, especially one by air or across water, you reach what is called the "point  of no return." Except in science fiction movies, it's not quite as ominous as it sounds. The point of no return is simply the half-way point of the trip. Once you pass that point you might as well go on to your destination; it's closer than going back to the beginning. I don't expect to live to one hundred and thirty, so it is clear that I passed that point some time ago. The reality is we can't go back in time, but the picture helps me to put some things in perspective. Maybe it will help some of you, on whichever side of that imaginary point you find yourself.
For those who can reasonably conclude that they are still on the outbound phase of life's journey, I hope these thoughts from one on the other side will cause you treasure the time the Lord gives you. I've lived long enough, and observed enough people to see folk who wasted their prime opportunity only to spend the backside of their journey regretting it. Both phases are wasted.
I see a lot of oldsters, like me, who waste the life they have left, mourning the youth they no longer have. We can't go back. If we allow the past to rob us of the future we will have lost all that remains.
C aleb was eighty-five when he asked Joshua to allot him one of the most difficult territories to claim (here). The Apostle Paul determined to "forget . . . what lies behind and reach . . . forward to what lies ahead, [he] press[ed] on toward the goal" (Philippians 3:13–14). Both modeled behavior that we folk on the far side of that no turn back point need to emulate. I'm trying to remember it myself. I have less life in front of me than I've lived behind me. That makes what is left all the more precious. With Moses I pray, “. . . teach [me] to number [my] days, That [I] may present to You a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)
Young or old we all need the Lord. Find out more here. |
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