God was about to judge all of Israel for their sins and then He remembered that their days were numbered.  He chose to turn away from His judgment on the whole nation because He knew that one day they would be gone from the earth.  Makes you think, doesn’t it?  Our lives are like a breath of wind to the Lord.  Another scripture says:  “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  (Psalm 90:12).   So, as I meditate on these verses, the Lord is reminding me that He has forgiven my sins and the eternal God of the Universe recognizes that I am not immortal as He is so He wants me to learn wisdom.  I remember when I was growing up and spending a lot of time with my grandparents that they looked forward to the arrival of the evening paper every day.  Pa would go out to the box and bring it in and the first thing he always turned to was the obituary section.  I was old enough to understand that he was reading aloud to Nanny the names of those who had died.  What I couldn’t understand at that time was why that was the most important part of the newspaper to him.  Now that I am older, I understand two things:  1)he was reading aloud the names of friends and acquaintances who had died; 2)he was reminding himself and Nanny of the fleeting passage of life.  Unlike Pa, I don’t scan the obituaries daily, but I do read the entire paper and pay attention to the obituaries of those I have been acquainted with.  As I get older, it seems that more people that I know are dying.   It makes me think and calls to my mind that I will one day go the way of my ancestors and pass away.  In the meantime, I have work to do for the Lord.  I need to learn wisdom, especially about what to say when to certain people.

Like many people, I have a tendency to try to evoke my feelings on others.  According to the scriptures, what I am supposed to be doing is listening and rejoicing if they are rejoicing and mourn if they are mourning.  I am not the most important person on the planet, although sometimes you wouldn’t know that by my attitude and words around others.  What we humans need is someone to walk by our side and laugh when we are laughing and cry when we are crying.  Sometimes, we, including me, are too proud to admit that we have a need.  God looks down and knows that we are “here today and gone tomorrow” so he extends to us mercy and grace.  Unfortunately, I sometimes forget my mortality and that of others and have higher expectations of them than the Father would.  I encourage you today to appreciate the day that God has given you and to look for ways to help others in their journey through life.  We are God’s chosen people and He chose us for the purpose of extending His Kingdom by telling others of God’s grace, mercy and forgiveness.  No matter what we are going through or how close we are to the end of our lives, we need to remember that we are Christ’s ambassadors and reach out to others.  No one knows how long their life will be, but this we do know:  We are to live for Christ and to do the kind acts that He would do if he were still walking around on earth.  Live, Go, Love!