I’m not old (I don’t think). At a relatively youthful 37 years of age, I feel like I still have a lot of life ahead of me.
But even I can recognize the difference between me now and me 10 years ago. The “me” of my 20’s was racked with anxiety, consumed with fears about the future, and struggled to show appreciation for my current blessings.
I feel like I’m slightly better at those things now, even though I know I still have a lot of work to do.
If there’s one thing I can point to that helped me more than just about anything else, it’s probably time.
There’s a benefit to perspective that you can really only gain as you get older.
Abraham Had Perspective
According to Genesis 25:7, Abraham was 175 years of age when he died. Genesis 21:5 says that he was 100 when Isaac was born, which means that Isaac was about 75 years old when Abraham died.
Before he died, Abraham wanted to make sure Isaac had a wife. Genesis 24 is all about that process (which we’ll look at in a few days), but before all that, Abraham takes a second to reflect.
Genesis 24:1 says that “the Lord had blessed Abraham in every way.” We know this isn’t just a passing comment by the writer of Genesis because Abraham acknowledges that God “took him” from his home and promised to give him the land of Canaan (Genesis 24:7).
Everything Abraham had, he had been given by God. He knew it, and he was thankful for it.
The relationship between God and Abraham spans nearly 14 chapters of Genesis. Over and over again, the conversation between the two is filled with love and intimacy. It’s no wonder that the place of paradise is described in Luke 16 as “Abraham’s bosom.”
Abraham always knew where his blessings had come from and he never ceased to give thanks for them. That’s a perspective we should have throughout our life as well.
You Don’t Need to Be Old to Get Perspective
As I write this, I’m watching my kids run outside at a kids’ play place not far from where we live. In a second, I’ll close my laptop and run around the yard with them, launching the basketball from 50 yards away to a broken hoop that looks like it could fall apart if I look at it wrong. I’ll probably miss it, and my son will laugh with me as I try again…this time, from even farther.
I know that these days aren’t going to be around forever. The times of coaching kids’ sports teams, putting together science projects at the last minute, and reading bedtime stories will stop at some point. By the same token, I’m also confident though that new memories and amazing moments will be take their place.
That’s a perspective I have now that I didn’t have when I was 27. Even though I know now how blessed I was then, at the time, I took it for granted. I thought the good times would only happen in the future, not in the now.
Now, I realize they’re happening today — in this moment, whatever moment I might happen to be living in. And that’s true no matter what station of life you find yourself in: young, old, rich, poor, sick, healthy, etc. All of us have the opportunity, and possibly the responsibility, to take a step back, like Abraham did, and realize how blessed we are by God.
If you do that every single morning, I promise you that your next prayer will be one of thankfulness for everything God has done for you. Most of which was probably always there.
We just never took the time to appreciate it.
