The Measure of Our Lives

Over many years, my husband, Paul, has often spoken to children or teen groups in churches, children’s homes, and prison about his life testimony.  He sometimes used a yardstick as one of his illustrations. He told them that if the yardstick can represent the length of a “normal” life, each half inch represents a year. He marked off nine inches, one quarter of a “life,” representing 18 years. He talked to the youngsters about the fact that in this first quarter of their lives, many of them would make decisions that would affect them for their entire lives, for good or bad. He told them of his own poor decisions and good decisons and encouraged them to make Godly choices.

Most of us are well past that first quarter of our yardstick, and we have, indeed, made many choices that will affect our lives forever. When we were young, we may have thought our decisions affected only ourselves. But now we see that our choices have affected and will affect many other people -- parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, spouses, children, or the children of others.

Every birthday offers us a new half inch of time. Some of us are in the middle of our yardstick, and some are nearing those very last half inches – and a few have even added some inches to the yardstick! Regardless, this year is our one half inch in which to make decisions that affect us and everyone we know (and, perhaps, many we don’t know) for our lives here and for eternity. The half inch seems so small, the yardstick so long. My entire collection of remaining half inches seems very small! But as long as we are on this side of the end of the measuring stick, we have opportunity to “lay up treasure in heaven.”

Chris Tomlin’s song, “All to Us,” has the line, “Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives.” Is it? Press on.

--Lynda Shenefield