ANCIENT!

The other day, while on my way to church with a friend, we passed by this unusual assemblage of stones on the side of the road. Noticing my quizzical eye, David commented, “Yes, that pile of rocks is as old as you, Abe.”

Now, I know I’m getting to a point where I’m developing considerable antique value, but I wondered aloud what he meant. We got out of the car and David pointed me to a tiny plaque almost completely hidden by the overgrowth of shrubbery.

Bieldside Cairn
This burial cairn is about 4000 years old
and was built by
prehistoric hunters and farmers.
It is protected by the Ancient Monuments Acts
and it is an offence to remove stones
or otherwise damage it.

“4000 years old! Gosh, that is indeed as old as Abe [not I, but my more illustrious Biblical forbear],” I exclaimed.

David agreed, noting wryly that his kids used to play atop it, when they used to live in Bieldside.

It is mind-boggling to look at and stand beside something today that might very well have have been around during the days of the patriarchs!

If there is one striking feature of this place—Aberdeen, Scotland, and perhaps all of the United Kingdom—it is its very evident age. Not that other places aren’t this ancient, but to live in such a land where artifacts such as this cairn attest to the presence of humanity in these locations for millennia, causes one to take an extremely realistic view of one’s own lifespan.

As for the days of ourlife, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
Psalm 90:10

Life is short, isn't it? Perhaps, for some, that is a reason for joy. In any case, we often wonder how we should watch the sand pour out of our hourglasses. How can we make our lives matter? What should we do with our time? How best can we utilize the brevity of our days?

Moses continued in his Psalm ...

So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

May God help us, believers, to be wise with our time, utilizing our days, weeks, months, and years, to serve Him to the best of our ability, glorifying Him, furthering His Kingdom, and edifying His people, for the sake of Christ.