What’s In A Number?

Monday Ministerial Musings

By Rev. Mark William Ennis

2023 Blog #6

February 6, 2023

What’s In A Number?

A few weeks ago my car reached a milestone. She reached 100,000 miles. Of course, I photographed the event when she moved her odometer from 99,999 miles to this new mileage total of 100,000. Few people photograph the ordinary as much as I do but I take pleasure in doing it.

Nothing happened when the odometer changed to this number. There was no trumpet fanfare. No balloons or confetti fell from the roof of the car. My car, “Irma,” did not even seem to notice. She just kept driving along as if nothing ever happened and ultimately got me to my destination.

My grandmother always told me on each of her birthdays, “age is just a number.” I guess for a car, mileage is “just a number.”

Shortly after “Irma” turned 100,000 miles, my grandson Zechariah had a birthday, Pam had a birthday, then my daughter Leah had a birthday and I followed a day later. Another Grandson, Sammy, will have a birthday in a few weeks. After each birthday I did not see any changes in those who celebrated birthdays. They acted the same and looked the same. They went to the same schools or the same places of employment. Nothing visible changed from these age-markers so why do we mark them with celebrations?

I wonder if we mark them for the same reason that we count innings in baseball or that there are timers at other sporting events. Often a team that is behind in a sporting match will see that time is running out and be spurred on to try a bit harder. I even know people outside the world of sports who do not work well without a firm deadline.

Do birthdays serve as reminder that our days/years/miles on earth are finite? We have but a short period of time to do all of our good that we will do in our lives.  Let us not waste our time. If there is good to be done, let us do it now. If there is peace to create, today is the day. If there is a blessing to give, there is no time like the present. In doing Jesus’ work, today is the day, not tomorrow.

There is a great deal of work for us to do. Let us do it now. We are finite.

#ReformedChurchInAmerica                                 #PastorMarkAuthor            

#BergenCounty                                                        #BergenfieldNJ

#Birthdays                                                                 #Milestones

#GoodDeeds                                                             #ImitationOfChrist

To read more of Pastor Mark’s writings, please order copy of his book: https://deepriverbooks.com/books/the-circle-of-seven/