The older I get and the faster that the New Year seems to pop up on the calendar, the more I think about, “What is the significance of my life?” Life is so uncertain that none of us knows whether this will be our last day on this planet, much less our last year. And even if we live a long life, it all goes by so quickly. So I often ask myself, “What have I accomplished of any lasting value in light of eternity?” And, “If the Lord gives me ten or fifteen more years of health and strength, what should I seek to accomplish?”
My parents used to have a little plaque on the wall by our front door that read, “Only one life, ’twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.” That little couplet states it well. The significance of our lives can only be measured in the light of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. As we seek to live in light of God’s purpose for our lives, we will know where we fit into His plan and our lives will take on the significance that God intended.
Psalm 8 explores the theme of God’s majestic splendor and our puny insignificance by way of comparison. And yet at the same time, God has created us in His image and graciously crowned us with glory and majesty. He has assigned us the role of ruling over His creation. All of these thoughts should lead us, as the psalm both begins and ends (Ps. 8:1, 9), to declare in worship, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!”