Embracing Time: Reflecting on Life's True Value

Devotional

Day 1: The Gift of Time's Potential

Time is a precious gift, offering us the opportunity to grow and become who God wants us to be. Recognizing its value can transform how we live each day, filling our moments with God's presence and purpose. Each day is a chance to embrace God's presence, care for others, and pursue personal development. Yet, we often squander this precious time, failing to recognize its true value. By acknowledging the preciousness of time, we can focus on what truly matters and avoid distractions that lead us away from God's path. [00:42]

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, ESV)

Reflection: What is one way you can intentionally use your time today to grow closer to God or serve others?

Day 2: The Illusion of Endless Time

Jeremy Taylor's insights remind us that we often waste our lives, acting as if we have endless time. We fear trivial matters and desire things as if we were immortal, yet we complain about the brevity of life. By acknowledging the brevity of life, we can focus on what truly matters and avoid distractions that lead us away from God's path. Recognizing the folly of wasting life encourages us to live with intention and purpose, aligning our actions with God's calling. [01:24]

"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 5:15-16, ESV)

Reflection: Identify one distraction in your life that often leads you away from God's path. How can you minimize its impact starting today?

Day 3: Wisdom in Mortality

Reflecting on our mortality, as taught by ancient wisdom, helps us gain perspective and wisdom. This practice encourages us to live intentionally, making choices that align with our values and God's calling. By embracing our mortality, we gain a broader perspective on life, allowing us to make meaningful commitments and changes that honor God and enrich our lives. This reflection is not about evoking fear but about gaining wisdom and perspective. [02:50]

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12, ESV)

Reflection: How does acknowledging your mortality change the way you view your daily decisions and priorities?

Day 4: The Deathbed Perspective

The ancient practice of the "deathbed test" invites us to imagine ourselves at the end of our lives, offering a powerful perspective on how we have lived. It challenges us to consider the legacy we wish to leave and the changes we need to make to align with God's purpose. This exercise is not about evoking specific emotions but about gaining a broader perspective on life. By imagining ourselves on our deathbeds, we can reflect on how we have lived and what truly matters. [03:22]

"Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord!" (Lamentations 3:40, ESV)

Reflection: Imagine yourself at the end of your life. What is one change you can make today to ensure you are living in alignment with the legacy you wish to leave?

Day 5: Reflection for Broader Perspective

The purpose of reflecting on our mortality is not to evoke fear but to gain a broader perspective on life. This reflection can guide us in making meaningful commitments and changes that honor God and enrich our lives. By gaining perspective through reflection, we are invited to consider the legacy we wish to leave behind and the changes we need to make to align with God's purpose. This moment of reflection can guide us in making meaningful changes and commitments that align with God's purpose for us. [03:58]

"Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked?" (Ecclesiastes 7:13, ESV)

Reflection: What is one meaningful commitment you can make today that aligns with God's purpose for your life?

Sermon Summary

Today, we are reminded of the profound opportunity we have to change and grow into the people God desires us to be. This moment is filled with the potential to embrace God's presence, care for others, and pursue personal development. Yet, we often squander this precious time, failing to recognize its true value. As we continue our journey of learning about character, it's crucial to consider how we can integrate these lessons into our lives. What commitments might God be calling us to make regarding change and character development?

Jeremy Taylor, in his insightful work on holy living and dying, warns us about the folly of wasting our days. We often act as if we have an abundance of time, fearing trivial matters and desiring things as if we were immortal. We complain about the brevity of life, yet we waste much of it and grow weary of its parts. We seek distractions to pass the time, only to lament its swift passage. God sends us reminders of life's finitude—gray hairs, stiff limbs, and more—yet we often ignore them, believing we can escape these realities.

Ancient wisdom, from Greek and Roman traditions to Buddhist practices, emphasizes the importance of remembering our mortality. This is not to be morbid but to gain wisdom and perspective. Today, we engage in an ancient practice known as the "deathbed test," used in psychological treatment to help us gain insight. By imagining ourselves at the end of our lives, we can reflect on how we have lived and what truly matters.

This exercise is not about evoking specific emotions but about gaining a broader perspective on life. As we imagine ourselves on our deathbeds, we are invited to reflect on our lives and consider the legacy we wish to leave behind. This moment of reflection can guide us in making meaningful changes and commitments that align with God's purpose for us.

Key Takeaways

1. The Preciousness of Time: Time is a gift of incalculable worth, offering us the opportunity to grow and become who God wants us to be. Recognizing its value can transform how we live each day, filling our moments with God's presence and purpose. [00:42]
2. The Folly of Wasting Life: Jeremy Taylor's insights remind us that we often waste our lives, acting as if we have endless time. By acknowledging the brevity of life, we can focus on what truly matters and avoid distractions that lead us away from God's path. [01:24]
3. Embracing Mortality for Wisdom: Reflecting on our mortality, as taught by ancient wisdom, helps us gain perspective and wisdom. This practice encourages us to live intentionally, making choices that align with our values and God's calling. [02:50]
4. The Deathbed Test: This ancient practice invites us to imagine ourselves at the end of our lives, offering a powerful perspective on how we have lived. It challenges us to consider the legacy we wish to leave and the changes we need to make to align with God's purpose. [03:22]
5. Gaining Perspective Through Reflection: The purpose of reflecting on our mortality is not to evoke fear but to gain a broader perspective on life. This reflection can guide us in making meaningful commitments and changes that honor God and enrich our lives. [03:58]
** [03:58]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:42] - The Opportunity for Change
[00:57] - Recognizing the Value of Time
[01:09] - Building Character and Commitment
[01:24] - Jeremy Taylor's Insights on Life
[01:38] - The Folly of Wasting Time
[02:08] - God's Reminders of Mortality
[02:23] - Ancient Wisdom on Mortality
[02:50] - Embracing Mortality for Wisdom
[03:04] - The Denial of Death
[03:22] - The Deathbed Test
[03:36] - Imagining the End of Life
[03:58] - Gaining Perspective Through Reflection

Sermon Clips

here's what I do know about today today you have and I have the opportunity to change and that is something of incalculable worth that I could move towards becoming the person that God wants me to be that I can fill this moment with God's presence and value and care for other people and growth and development that is possibility and yet I waste second by second hour after hour day after day because I don't recognize how precious this is [00:29:49]

we're learning together about character and we're not to the end of it yet but I do want to incorporate some time as we move towards the end of this so that we can think about what do I do with this how do I build this into my life what kind of commitment might God be calling you to make when it comes to change and your character going forward [00:60:40]

one of the great dangers is Jeremy Taylor writes in a wonderful little book on holy living and dying that for foolish people they have this character they throw away all the days of their life Taylor writes about that writes this we spend time as if we had too much and knew not what to do with it we fear everything like weak and silly Mortals and desire strangely and greedily as if we were immortal [00:81:57]

We complain our life is short and yet we throw away much of it and are weary of many of its parts We complain the day is long uh and the night is long and we want company and we seek out Arts to drive the time away screens television and then weep because it is Gone Too Soon [00:110:04]

meanwhile he says the reality is that God sends us all these reminders he lists a group of them on one page um that death is coming that time is finite that it's short gray hairs rotten teeth demon eyes trembling joints short breaths stiff limbs wrinkled skin short memory decayed appetite and in our day we say we can do something about that you don't have to go through that [00:132:78]

but Taylor reminds us what wise people have always known that life is very very short and this was part of ancient Greek and Roman wisdom they talk about Memento morai to remember that we're going to die or the Buddhist practice of um reflecting on the impertinent impertinence the impermanence of all things [00:159:18]

or uh Becker's book the denial of death where he says the denial of death is the mainspring of human motivation so what we're going to do today is an intervention called the death bed test and this is used now in psychological treatment but it's a very very ancient practice [00:184:92]

and the purpose of this is not to be morbid but to gain wisdom so I want to invite you now to take a deep breath and to imagine that you have reached the end of your life and that you are lying on your Deathbed and again in this moment the purpose is not to try to conjure any particular kind of emotion it's to gain perspective [00:204:42]

has reached its final day there's no one with you now this is just you reflecting on your life [00:240:31]

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