BEGINNINGS & ENDINGS

“Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.” Hebrews 7:3

It occurs to me that the only thing which has no beginning, and no ending is the Creator of time. And as one of the characters in one of my favorite movies philosophized,

“I’ve come up with just two incontrovertible facts: There’s one God, …and I’m not Him.”

Every man, woman, boy, girl, animal, tree and plant on earth have both a beginning and an ending. We are creatures constrained by time, and there’s just so much of it allotted to each of us.

We can apply cosmetics, sculpt our faces and waistlines, have replacement teeth installed, and implant new hair, (and other things) but try as we might, Providence has assigned us a limited number of days, and nothing we can do will add another minute to our allotted stay on the earth.

Make a notation in your daily journal. Go ahead. I’ll wait. Write it down on the flyleaf.

*“Reminder. Every ten years take a selfie on January 1st of that respective year. Slip the photo into a chronological album designed to document the passage of your personal time.”

And I’m convinced that if, after the passage of a few decades, you will flip through the pages of that album, you will notice a progressive, tangible difference between the pictures.

Pt. 2

In the past couple of days, when a bagboy referred to me as,

“Sir,” I jokingly responded,

“Hey, I’m still 30…if I stay away from mirrors.”

Beginnings and Endings

I have a video of my dad’s retirement party; which my wife and I hosted at our house. Interestingly enough, (at least to me) my parents posed next to a store-bought cake laid out on a table; in the exact same spot where I now sit typing these words. The date imprint on the video is 12-30-91.

Daddy was still fit and healthy, and eagerly looking forward to the days and weeks and months which stretched out like a curtain before him.

Twenty years later, to the very day, (12-30-11) my father sustained a stroke, fell and hit his head on a similar table, was hospitalized, and passed away just two months later.

We are creatures of time. Time constrains us. We simply cannot stay here.

I have often thought about the shape of the cross. The main beam is vertical and extends upward towards the heavens. The cross beam is horizontal, and extends outward, as though to those with whom we have to do.

Our relationship with God and our fellow man.

At the end of the day the crucial thing, the thing which truly matters is that we extend our love towards the One who so lovingly created us, (and) that we go about impacting those whom God has set in our pathway. I think as Solomon so wisely mused, this is, after all, “the conclusion of the matter.”

“Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12

(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 75. By William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending. 

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