“Because
he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him securely on high,
because he has known My name. He will call upon Me, and I will answer him. I
will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With a long life
I will satisfy him and let him see My salvation.”(NASB)
Sixty-nine years is
a long time to live, although there are lots of Biblical characters who lived a
whole lot longer. People who lived before the flood lived for an extremely
extended time, like Adam who lived 930 years, in contrast to one after the
flood, Moses who lived 120 years. Consider the current life expectance of
people in different countries of the world according to Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy (15 May 2012). Those in Japan in
2010 were expected to live the longest of any nation in the world, an average
of 82.6 years, while those in the United States expectancy was only 78.2 years.
So my husband, Jerry, who is
celebrating his 69th birthday today, by these statistics, is still a
young guy. It is encouraging that he is in good health and that he has a deep
respect for the Lord, so he is promised a long life. He honored his parents,
although their favorite story of him as a child was that he said, “I’ll do the
dishes but I’m not going to do ‘em good.” Just a little bit of rebellion there.
We see that same rebellion in our children and now our grandchildren. It is a
normal human response. Rebellion doesn’t shorten our life span unless it is
taken to the extreme. In Jeremiah 28:16
the prophet Jeremiah is speaking to the prophet Hananiah, "Therefore thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I am about to remove you
from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have
counseled rebellion against the Lord.'" (NASB)
So it seems that sometimes
rebellion can end in a shortened lifespan. Rebellion against the Lord and
against parents is a character trait that parents need to nip in the bud—to try
to remove it from their child’s character before they are five years old.
Children need to learn to respect their parents. Of course, we realize that
most teenagers go through a rebellious stage as part of growing up and becoming
independent of their parents—almost like a stage in childbirth and or in death.
The tearing away from the familiar to start a new phase in life.
Living a long life
is so important to most people. To me, a high quality of life is more important
than an extended quantity, but then I personally haven’t had to face my own
death, yet. I don’t want to live to be 99 years old and be a vegetable—I want
to live life to the fullest—walking with the Lord day by day until my days are
over. Walking is important, physically and spiritually. We need to exercise
almost every day to keep our bodies in shape. Spiritually we need to exercise
every day, too. Reading and studying God’s word for ourselves keeps us
spiritually fit and shows God that we do indeed love Him. These verses in Psalm
91 promise us that if we love and honor God, He will honor us. What more could
we want out of life?
Lord,
thank you for being part of Jerry’s life and I ask that You would continue to
guide and direct him, giving him wisdom for all the days of his long life ahead
of him.
Happy
Birthday, Jerry!
©
2012 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
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