measure

            LORD, let me know my end,
            and what is the measure of my days;
            let me know how fleeting my life is. – Psalm 39:4 (NRSV)

In the safety of the congregation, we may be able to pray this prayer. But when we are alone, in the honest places in our heart, this prayer scares us. I may want to live a faithful life, making the most of each of my days. But do I want to face how fleeting my life is? Do I want to give up my comfortable laziness, confident that there will always be enough days left?

The measure of my days, the fullness of time represented by my life, are not mine to know. But they are mine to live and steward well. We can’t possibly go through life with the assumption that each day will be our last. There is too much that can’t be accomplished in one day. Our relationships are an investment in the future. Our gifts and talents have not yet fully developed.

However, I think the psalmist is calling us to an awareness of the finitude of life. We will have our wasted days, but we should not have too many of them. We should live with purpose and on purpose.

The measure of my days is not measured in any single one of them but in the fullness of how I live them. It is not about how long I live but how I live. We don’t need to know when we will die to know that life is fleeting. May we value the measure of our days and live them well.

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It’s Five Minute Friday, a five-minute free-write on a one-word prompt. Read more here.