Perspective

Trinity Presbyterian Church of Bethesda
08.31.08; Rev. John An and Rev. David Williams

Scripture Lessons: Psalm 90; Romans 12: 9-21

How long did this summer seem to you?

It seems like only yesterday that school was getting out.

Kids were feeling happy.

Kids were finally free!

No school!

Yay!

Parents were trying to figure out how to juggle them and work.

Parents were trying to get kids to summer programs and into camps.

No school!

Boo!

And now another summer is over.

When you’re an adult, those few months of summer are gone like the blink of an eye.

For that, we are truly grateful.

But when you’re young, a summer can seem like forever.

Those few months stretch out to the far horizon.

The distance between June and August is unimaginably large.

But when you’re young, your sense of time is very different.

Even a single afternoon can seem like an eternity.

Especially if you don’t have cable.

It is a matter of perspective.

As you become older, every day represents a slightly smaller fraction of your life.

Because of this, they seem to pass more quickly.

When you’ve seen more of life, time itself seems to grow smaller.

It’s a bit like looking down at this church.

It seems like a big place when you’re standing on the roof clearing the gutters.

It’s less so when you’re at 10,000 feet.

It so tiny as not to be visible at all when you’re in orbit.

It’s a matter of perspective.

Today’s reading from the 90^th Psalm is all about perspective

It’s an interesting Psalm for many reasons.

The Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 individual praise songs.

Those 150 songs are divided up into five separate collections.

Some scholars believe this is to match the five books of the Torah.

Psalm 90 begins the fourth collection of Psalms.

Of all of the Psalms, the 90^th is the only one to be attributed to Moses.

It describes human life, but not from our viewpoint.

This song, this prayer, is about how God sees us and all we do.

For God, a thousand years are as “yesterday when it is past.”

“Yesterday when it is past” is another way of saying no time at all.

Even the rise and fall of great nations, of whole civilizations, are less than a blinking of an eye to God.

For the Almighty God, all of our days of struggling and our planning are as fleeting as a dream.

How can we respond to One so immense and seemingly terrifying?

The Psalmist tells us.

In verse twelve, we hear that we are to count or number our days.

This will give us wisdom.

But what does wisdom teach?

What is the value of our lives, if they are so itty bitty in the eyes of God?

What should guide our decisions, as we move through the transitions of life?

It can’t be the pursuit of wealth, because wealth means nothing to God.

It can’t be the pursuit of power, because everything we have will pass away.

Each of us is moving towards a new stage in our lives.

For many, it means going into a new school year.

There are new classes to take.

There are new teachers to get to know.

There are new friendships to make and old friendships to make anew.

Change is everywhere.

We may struggle to know how to act in a time of change.

How to approach this new part of our lives?

How are we to decide?

Look at your life from God’s perspective.

Many of us think that we can put off living the life God is calling us to.

“I’ve got to get through this one thing, and then I’ll get right with God,” we say.

“I’m not mature enough in my spiritual journey,” we say.

“I’ll get around to living that life later,” we argue.

But God sees your life…all of your life…right now.

The way you live in this moment matters.

The way you deal with every instant matters.

Because in the eyes of your Maker, your whole life is just an instant.

But how are we to live joyously in those moments?

In the Book of Romans, chapter 12, the Apostle Paul tells us.

For life to be joyous, we are to love.

Not just love a little.

We are to love abundantly.

We are to show affection to those within the church.

We are to show love and care even to our enemies.

Every moment, every action, every deed needs to be filled with God’s love.

Because as we approach every change and every choice in our lives,

We have to remember that God’s perspective isn’t just eternal.

It is also defined by a love that claims authority over every tiny fraction of our lives.

So count your days as God counts them.

Be filled with the wisdom that brings joy.

Whatever may come in the weeks ahead

See it and respond to it with that love.