Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.
Give Your Best Day to God
I’ve got some good news, and I’ve got some bad news. The good news is that when we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. The bad news is that every day from now until then, your body will be running out of steam by degrees. You will be breaking down gradually.
That is what Ecclesiastes 12 reminds us of. It is a vivid and poetic description of what happens to the human body over time. Just like a house, it begins to wear down, wear out, and break down. You slowly lose your senses and faculties. You can’t hear what you heard; you can’t feel what you felt; you can’t see what you saw; you can’t say what you said; you can’t eat what you ate. Your senses are dulled.
How should we view this? Ecclesiastes 12 says, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.” There is coming a day of diminished pleasure, a day when you may have more bad days than good and you won’t have the youth and vitality that once you had.
The point is that you should give your best day to God. “Remember now in the days of your youth.” You might say, “I am not that young.” Yes, but you are younger than you will be tomorrow. You may be an old guy today, but you could be older, and you will be older tomorrow if God gives you life. Isn’t that a cheery thought! There is coming a day when your hair will turn gray and fall out, and you may lose your teeth, your strength, and your grit. You are younger now than you will ever be again. So, give your best day to God.
Also, remember that today is your best day. Now there may be an ebb and flow to one’s health. Perhaps in a week you will feel better than you do now. Perhaps you will lose weight, gain strength, or set a new “personal best.” That is all good and fine, but in the long arc of your life, you are wearing down a little each day. So, today is your best day! You are younger today than you will ever be again. As silly as that sounds, it is most certainly true.
That is why the conclusion of the whole matter is to “fear God, and keep his commandments.” Verse 14 says, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” This life is short, but it is ample preparation for the life to come. Give God your best day, and remember that today is that day!