It seems that the older we get, and more spiritually mature, it is easier to understand that a person’s life is just as complete at twenty-five years old, or fifty-five years, or seventy-five years.  There is one thing that we must keep in mind:  with the Lord, a day can mean a thousand years, and a thousand years can mean a day.  Remember that the purpose of life is living, and not counting years!   And a life well-lived achieves its full potential.  

At seventy-five years old, I have stopped counting years.  I realize that God doesn’t want it, and I don’t need it.   We can celebrate our birthdays, and please don’t leave here saying the Bishop doesn’t want you to celebrate your birthday!    I do want you to do that, but especially for the right reasons.  We can celebrate our birthdays, and we should.   But we should be celebrating something even more important than how many years old we are.      

We should be celebrating  the years of Christian life God has given us. We should be celebrating what we have done with all those years God has given us.  Have we used those years wisely, or have we wasted them?  Did we glorify God in all those years, or instead did we give ourselves glory?   

I hope I have been a wise steward of the years God has given me ....

(Remarks At His 75th Birthday Celebration - February 22, 2011)

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