10.15.07

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. - Exodus 20:12.

Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you—a land flowing with milk and honey. - Deuteronomy 6:1-2.

My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. - Proverbs 1-4.

The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked will be shortened. - Proverbs 10:27.

He who would love life and see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. - 1 Peter 3:10.

As righteousness leads to life, So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death. - Proverbs 11:19.

The verses above give some of the reasons why people may live short lives and also why some live long lives. If you honor your father and your mother, the fifth commandment (or the first commandment with promise) promises long life. However, if you do not honor your mother and your father it would appear that the opposite may be the result.

Keeping the commandments of God in general and living a life of reverence before Him also appears to be helpful in living a long life. Not living such an obedient and reverent life would appear to be a cause for some to live short lives.

The oldest person in the world may be, Edna Parker at the age of 114 who lives in Shelbyville, Indiana. The previous oldest person in the world was Yone Minagawa of Japan who died in August 2007 at the age of 114. The oldest person before Minagawa was Emma Faust Tillman who had also reached the age of 114 before passing away. People do appear to be living longer. I have personally met a man who was more than 100 years old and today had a funeral service for a woman who had lived 97 years. Of course, these are nowhere near the ages of some people in the Bible (Genesis 5) such as Methuselah who lived for 969 years.

The cold hard fact of life is that some day our life will come to an end; we will die a physical death. We may live a very long life or a very short life or somewhere in between but we will die a physical death. For those of us still alive who know that this is ahead in our future there is an important question that we need to answer. How are we going to live those days, months, and years until we pass from this world to the next? What is it that God wants of your life now? How does He want you to live now?

Each of us has a limited time upon this earth and we will leave behind us a heritage of some kind - good or bad. What kind of heritage have you been leaving? What kind of heritage should you be leaving?