PASTOR’S BLOG
I have a friend who is short physically but is very tall in accomplishing much in life. He is always active, full of energy and keeps himself busy in various projects. He is much older than me but
never talks about retirement but only what he is going to achieve next in life. I admire his enthusiasm and zeal and hoped that it would rub on to me. But then I realized, hoping will not help. I have to decide and make the sacrifices needed to achieve greater things in life. All of us are given the same size, identical “suitcase”, but some pack in a lot more in a day than others do. The greatest possession we all have is the 24 hours directly in front of us. How we use that which is available to all equally will determine our destiny and legacy. In preparation for my sermon last week, I was reminded that the Adventist Pioneers, like Ellen White, Joseph Bates, Uriah Smith, etc., were young people, in their teens and early 20s. Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he drafted the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin was 26 when he wrote Poor Richard’s Almanack. Charles Dickens was 24 when he began his Pickwick Papers and 25 when he wrote Oliver Twist. Isaac Newton was 24 when he formulated the law of gravitation and we can go on naming others but it is equally true that age is no barrier to achieving what we want in life. Our two Presidential candidates are the oldest in history aspiring for that office. Emmanuel Kant wrote his finest philosophical works at age 74. Verdi at the age of 80 produced
“Falstaff” and at 85 produced “Ave Maria.” Goethe was 80 when he completed Faust. Tennyson was 80 when he wrote “Crossing the Bar” and Michelangelo completed his greatest work at 87. At 90, Justice Holmes was still writing brilliant Supreme Court opinions. Someone put it this way: “There is no ‘magic age’ at which excellence emerges or quality surfaces.” The Word of God admonishes us to “redeem the time.” We need to get hold of the moment of our life. The moment we wait for, may never arrive and the moment that has passed will never return. So may God help us to seize the day and pack as much as we can in the identical suitcases He has gifted us.
I have a friend who is short physically but is very tall in accomplishing much in life. He is always active, full of energy and keeps himself busy in various projects. He is much older than me but
never talks about retirement but only what he is going to achieve next in life. I admire his enthusiasm and zeal and hoped that it would rub on to me. But then I realized, hoping will not help. I have to decide and make the sacrifices needed to achieve greater things in life. All of us are given the same size, identical “suitcase”, but some pack in a lot more in a day than others do. The greatest possession we all have is the 24 hours directly in front of us. How we use that which is available to all equally will determine our destiny and legacy. In preparation for my sermon last week, I was reminded that the Adventist Pioneers, like Ellen White, Joseph Bates, Uriah Smith, etc., were young people, in their teens and early 20s. Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he drafted the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin was 26 when he wrote Poor Richard’s Almanack. Charles Dickens was 24 when he began his Pickwick Papers and 25 when he wrote Oliver Twist. Isaac Newton was 24 when he formulated the law of gravitation and we can go on naming others but it is equally true that age is no barrier to achieving what we want in life. Our two Presidential candidates are the oldest in history aspiring for that office. Emmanuel Kant wrote his finest philosophical works at age 74. Verdi at the age of 80 produced
“Falstaff” and at 85 produced “Ave Maria.” Goethe was 80 when he completed Faust. Tennyson was 80 when he wrote “Crossing the Bar” and Michelangelo completed his greatest work at 87. At 90, Justice Holmes was still writing brilliant Supreme Court opinions. Someone put it this way: “There is no ‘magic age’ at which excellence emerges or quality surfaces.” The Word of God admonishes us to “redeem the time.” We need to get hold of the moment of our life. The moment we wait for, may never arrive and the moment that has passed will never return. So may God help us to seize the day and pack as much as we can in the identical suitcases He has gifted us.
Shalom, Shalom!
Pastor Franklin David
TO KNOW HIM AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN
