“Lord, make me to know my end,
And what is the measure of my days,
That I may know how frail I am.
Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,
And my age is as nothing before You;
Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.
(Psalm 39:4-5)
Almost twenty years ago I found a plan for memorizing the entire New Testament in five years. I looked up the author of the plan, a Bible college professor, and called him on the phone, asking for advice and for more information about his experience in recommending it to students and young ministers. He made a comment I have never forgotten: “You have to know what the text says before you can know what it means.” That was a quote worth remembering. I made a lot of headway with that plan for some time and used others I developed myself. Aggressive memorization of Scripture was a major part of my daily routine for a number of years. But I never memorized the entire New Testament. If I had slowed the pace and learned at even one-third the speed, I would have completed that original schedule three or four years ago.
I was asking myself during a walk this morning what advice I would have given to myself as a child if I had known how the first four decades of my life would turn out. What might I have done differently from age ten to twenty or from age twenty to thirty that would have made a difference now between age forty and fifty? These kinds of thought exercises can be helpful in several ways, but they should not be overused. After all, we cannot go back and give advice to our younger selves, but we can learn to use better what time we have remaining, whether it is much or little. The best time to begin those habits of learning, growth, and spiritual development that you want to pursue would have been 25-30 years ago. The second best time to begin them is today. --JME
