Life expectancy for men and women in Britain reduced because of the Covid-19 pandemic but still the average age is high. In 2020 the median age at death was 81.8 years for men and 85.5 years for women, a fall of 1.3 years for men and 0.9 years for women from 2019. Many now live to be more than 80 years old, but it is not only length of life that is important, but also the quality of life. When we live to a great age deteriorating health imposes limitations on our quality of life. For example, the number of people living with dementia is increasing with all the challenges this brings for the people, their families and society.
In Psalm 90, written more than 3000 years ago, Moses says, “The length of our days is seventy years – or eighty, if we have the strength; yet the best of them is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass away, and we fly away.” All those years ago people lived a similar length of time to people today and they also experienced the troubles and sorrows of life. Like us, too, they realised that time passes so quickly. As we get older, time seems to pass even more quickly!
The challenge for us all, however old we are, is to use the days of our life well. In Psalm 90 Moses prayed, “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” In the Bible, wisdom is not so much about intellectual ability as about practical daily living. The wise person puts the principles God teaches us in the Bible, and has written in our hearts, into practice. Solomon, who was a very wise king, wrote, “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.”
The wise person also thinks, not only of this world, but of the world to come. Horatius Bonar, the 19th century Scottish hymn writer, who lived to be 81, wrote a hymn which is not often sung today. “He liveth long who liveth well; all other life is short and vain; He liveth longest who can tell of living most for heavenly gain. He liveth long who liveth well; all else is being flung away; He liveth longest who can tell of true things truly done each day. Fill up each hour with what will last; buy up the moments as they go; The life above, when this is past, is the ripe fruit of life below.”