“Yesterday came suddenly”.
These words were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles back in 1965. The whole sentence goes something like this: “Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, now it looks as though they’re here to stay—yesterday came suddenly!”
The BBC voted this the best song of the 20th Century. That is debatable—it’s not a Christian song by any means but there is some truth in the phrase, “yesterday came suddenly.” Old age indeed does seem to come suddenly. Age, and the trek towards old age, can be an eye opener when you finally arrive at that time in your life. There is no turning back, no do-overs, no second chances. The years are gone.
Solomon of the Bible certainly understood the finality of life and concluded with a simple summary about the purpose of life in Ecclesiastes 12:13: “Fear God and keep his commandments”. (It would be wise to read the whole chapter to appreciate the seriousness of what we call “LIFE”). Someone has said, “Time writes no wrinkles on the forehead of God”. For us, the years pass and leave their mark, and the busy lives we lead can cause us to forget what is really important.
Life certainly is “even as a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14). Since we only have one chance at living life in its fullness it is best to trust God in all things. Bob Jones, my modern-day hero in the faith (apart from my dad), put it this way “Trust God, trust God I say, even if the stars fall out of their silver sockets, trust God”. I suspect that if young Christians with families would trust God in all things (I’m still trying to learn this lesson by the way), when they reach their “old age years” they would be able to look back and with sincerity declare that living for God is the best way!
Forest Gump said, “You’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on!” That seems like a good way to approach life: “I’m going to put the past in the rear-view mirror and trust God in all things for the future.” If you will do that each new year, I can promise you that when you reach my old age you will look back and say, “Wow! God’s way has been the best way for me”.