Today's Scripture
Spiritual Investment Ecclesiastes 12:1-7 (The Message)
1-2 Honor and enjoy your Creator while you’re still young,
Before the years take their toll and your vigor wanes,
Before your vision dims and the world blurs
And the winter years keep you close to the fire.
3-5 In old age, your body no longer serves you so well.
Muscles slacken, grip weakens, joints stiffen.
The shades are pulled down on the world.
You can’t come and go at will. Things grind to a halt.
The hum of the household fades away.
You are wakened now by bird-song.
Hikes to the mountains are a thing of the past.
Even a stroll down the road has its terrors.
Your hair turns apple-blossom white,
Adorning a fragile and impotent matchstick body.
Yes, you’re well on your way to eternal rest,
While your friends make plans for your funeral.
6-7 Life, lovely while it lasts, is soon over.
Life as we know it, precious and beautiful, ends.
The body is put back in the same ground it came from.
The spirit returns to God, who first breathed it.
RJ's Devotion
What Does the Passage Say?
V. 1-2 Honor our Creator, while we still have the strength to honor God with all we have.
V. 3-5 We will soon experience that our youth does not last forever.
V. 6-7 Youth will whither soon, but God calls us to invest in eternity.
What Does the passage Mean to Me/US?
“Honor and enjoy your Creator while you’re still young” (V. 1 The Message).
Following and serving our Creator is a privilege and an honor, even though it seems difficult.
The author of Ecclesiastes, warns us not to lose focus on our youth and the entertainment of the world.
He warns us that it might taste sweet, at times, but it will not last.
Instead, he offers an alternative to serve our Creator, in the prime time of our lives.
Not as a secondary purpose, but offering God our first and best gifts.
It is not late. We can start today, right at this moment to focus our lives to honor our Creator.
Prayer
Lord, help us to honor you in all that we do. In Christ Name, we pray, AMEN.
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