A Classic

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. (1 Corinthians 3:10-13 ESV).

Well, today is my 70th birthday! The picture I’ve chosen is that of a fully restored 1949 Chevrolet DeLuxe Fleetline 2-Door Sedan. When it first came off the assembly line, it was originally advertised as: “The most Beautiful BUY of all! A wonderful experience awaits you with this wonderful New Chevrolet.” I learned to drive in a ’52 Chevy, though I can’t remember much about the experience! I supposed that’s simply a function of the passage of time. But, the truth is that time marches on. I realized this morning that it has been 20 years since I was invited to join the AARP and to qualify for senior discounts. I remember the first time I went into a fast food restaurant and the server asked, “Would you like our senior citizen menu?” In fact, just a simple look in the mirror tells me all I need to know about how many years have passed since that “auspicious” day in 1949 (wow, that sounds like a long time ago)! Truthfully, it is merely another day. It is a mile-marker of sorts, but it is only one day older than yesterday. There is something important about having mile markers in life. They force us to stop long enough to measure where we are in life and to assess the true significance of what we are devoting our time and attention to. As I have aged I have learned a bit about things of significance. I wanted to minimize my regrets and maximize my opportunities. Things of long-term significance like my family ought to become more important to me. How I used my resources ought to take on a greater sense of significance. Our reading today is a great reminder. Imagine stepping onto the other side and realizing that we have nothing of eternal worth. Think of looking into the face of Jesus and realizing that the only things we have are the “wood, hay, and straw” of earth-side stuff (vv. 14-15). If we don’t let the markers of life remind us of how close heaven is, we may make the mistake of pouring our lives into the bottomless bucket of stuff that doesn’t really make a difference after all. Thank God for birthdays! They remind us that life is short and that heaven is near!