Good morning. “In conclusion” could be the words or the reality of a situation that you longed for, or perhaps they could be words you are sorry to hear and/or recognize. If the words come from a long-winded preacher, perhaps they are greeted with a sense of relief. If they come at the end of a great game you are watching, perhaps they are received with a bit of regret. If it is the end of a long and difficult journey, then the concluding minutes or miles are greeted with grateful anticipation. If they signify the last song of a concert you have been looking forward to with music you love, then they may be accepted with some genuine sorrow. How you react to such words is determined by context, by how you feel about the circumstances that surround them.
How would you feel if those words were attached to your life on earth? If somehow, whether by the diagnosis of a doctor or by simple recognition of waning strength, you realize that within a short time you will breathe your last, how would you feel?
Is yours a life well lived? Is yours a life marked more by regrets than joys? Do you accept the idea of life’s conclusion wishing that you had a chance to say or do many things that should never have been left unsaid or undone? Is yours an end that is merely the entryway into a marvelous, new, and eternal, beginning? Would yours be an end where you hope for eternity with God, but fear that the consequences of your actions will call for a different result?
Teach us to rightly number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
The thought of this Psalm is that we should always value every day we live. We should always recognize each day as a new opportunity. We should never take any day for granted or assume that our days will never end.
Make the most of this day. Be right with God on this day. Live well this day as though it could be the conclusion, for that is the attitude that reflects godly wisdom.
Vern