The Dash Between the Dates

What a good reminder this is especially as many of us are reminded of how quickly God can take us from this world as He did Steve Irwin.
Devotional Reading for: 9/7/2006	Associated Scripture Readings: 1 Corinthians Psalm 39
The Dash between the Dates
Teach us to number our days aright. Psalm 90:12
You see it in obituaries and funeral bulletins. You probably don’t even notice it, because you really are looking at what comes before and after it. It’s the dash, the mark that connects the dates of birth and death. It looks so small, but it stands for all the days that mattered—the days of that person’s life. The Bible reminds us of the shortness of life. Psalm 39:5 calls its span a “mere handbreadth”—a fleeting breath. Whether long or short, that span of days is very important to God. That is the time He breaks into our lives with His love and labors to bring us His gift of faith through His Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit. That little dash is so important that God squeezed Himself into it. Jesus Christ, true God, became man, taking our created flesh into Himself. He stepped into time, taking on a birth date. On the day of His death on the cross, He broke the power of death. His resurrection proclaims that Christ has blown open the end of the dash. Death is no longer the end for those who trust in Him. We have been baptized into Christ. Life with Him has begun, and it will last forever. The dash no longer has power over us.
Merciful God and Father, renew me today in Jesus’ love, and show me eternal life, that I may live all my days in You. Amen.