Most years God gives us 52 holy days, sometimes we get a 53rd. If you want to be sobered up, you can calculate approximately how many Sundays you have left in this world. Subtract your age from the average lifespan of man or woman your age, and multiply by 52. (Insurance adjusters have a lot more fun doing this, so talk to one of the insurance professionals in our congregation if you really want to do a deep dive on your projected mortality.) Recent data from the NIH suggests I have 33.94 years left; that’s 1,764.88 more Lord’s Days, 1,768 if I can stretch it a full 34 more years. That sounds like a lot. It might even be enough for us to finish First Corinthians—though, no doubt, some of you have wondered about that. But I never expected to make it to 40 years old, much less 43, so I’m not counting on 1,700 more Sundays. Besides, they go by quickly. How many have I already failed to appreciate and enjoy? There are more Lord’s Days in my past than are likely in my future. That’s not a bad thing; it’s a good thing. But it is a sobering realization. We must learn to number our days if we want to gain a heart of wisdom (Ps. 90:12).
Of course, none of us really knows how many Sundays we have left. Tomorrow might be our last one. Some of us may not even make it there. Maybe the headache I’ve had all day is just allergies, or maybe it is an aneurysm. Only God knows, and I need to be prepared for either possibility. One day each of us will get up out of bed for the last time. There will be a last hug with my daughters, a last fist-bump with my sons, a last kiss with my wife. Then the real fun begins. The last time will be the last of the pre-game rituals, the last miserable moment downrange. Then we go home, where we will be together with all the saints, and we will enjoy every good thing God made for us all the time, world without end.
Sundays should not be taken for granted. Nor should Mondays, Tuesdays, or any other day ending in y. Each one is a gift from God. Your life is but a vapor, your destiny is immortal, imperishable, invincible life. Every Sunday we give thanks for God’s providence. The Church erects another Ebenezer stone and confesses, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” And so he always will. He will carry us every step of the way until we cross the river and enter the City. We are traveling from glory to glory, one Lord’s Day to the next and on to the last. --JME
