Sixteen Years

Scriptures: “Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)

A few weeks ago, my younger son came to me and asked, “Dad, can you teach me how to shave?” I looked up and saw his face with mustache and whiskers, so I said, “Sure!” But, inside, I thought to myself, “It’s about time! Otherwise, you are going to look older than I am!”

So, I went through all the details and all the things to watch out for when shaving with him. After he finished shaving and showed to my wife and myself his work, my wife made a comment of how he looked much younger then.

It then hit me that my son is shaving now. After sixteen years, now he wants to shave like a grownup. He’s no longer a little boy. He’s turning into a young man. He’s actually taller than I am. His voice is lower than mine. He doesn’t follow me around whenever I go out to work in the backyard or garage. He’s not interested in coming to my office with me, either.

He goes out to movies with friends and to church camping with other youth group members. He has his own taste for music, clothing, comic books, and the list goes on. He demands to be convinced, instead of being told to. He’s joined the church’s youth group leadership team and now has his own view of how church should run. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced he’s turning into a young man now.

You would think sixteen years is a long time. But, at that moment, it didn’t seem long at all. Somehow, I don’t feel like I have done all that I want to do to prep him for life. I looked around and I still saw a lot of areas in his life that I would like to work on. Then I thought, isn’t it the same with everything else in life? Just when we think we still have time, it ran out from us unnoticed. Just when we want to take a break, we find ourselves pressed for one kind of deadline or another. Time is never enough!

Maybe that’s why Apostle Paul reminded us to be careful how we live. He urged us to live wisely, i.e. to make the most of every opportunity. Why? His reason was “because the days are evil!” (Ephesians 5:16) In that brief instruction, I sensed the urgency in his tone. Paul saw the wickedness of his time and, at the same time, he saw the need for salvation in his time, too. He realized, as many of us have, that time is short both on personal level and on the level of the grand plan of God. So he urged each child of God to make the most of every opportunity to do good to bring people out of the bondage of sins and to bring goodness into a wicked generation.

If we care to take a closer look, we would see the tremendous needs out there, even more so right there in the church. If only we know the problems the brother or sister sitting next to us is going through! If only we know the short of hands in our outreach ministries to students, to single parents, to aged seniors, to young and old families, to immigrants, and so on! If only we know how many people out there can be reached through publications, through web sites, through community activities, and so on! If only …

Yet, like you and me, Paul also only had 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. He realized that we face the same time constraint as he did. So he urged us to be wise in managing our time. What can we do with the time given us? How do we determine what goes to top of our priority and what not? Since each of us was called for a purpose and was given a mission, we need to review and assess where we are in terms of our calling on a regular basis.

Maybe it’s time for you to sit down and think about where you are and where to go from here. I know it is for me when I saw that sixteen years of my son’s life have gone by and I didn’t feel like I have achieved the goal I had. He became a reminder from God to me to help me move on for many more sixteen years. How about you? By the grace of God, I sincerely pray and hope we can all honestly assess our spiritual journey and be able to step forward with renewed commitment and clear priority for His purpose and glory!

Prayer Requests:
For all those watching children growing up and facing the empty nest

Prayer:

Our Heavenly Father, thank you for the gifts of loved ones and time with which we are called to serve. We pray for Your wisdom and guidance to help us be the faithful vessels of Yours to bring the lost back to you and the glory due You because we pray in the wonderful name of our Lord Jesus, Amen!