When younger, most people don’t give much thought to time. It seems to be unlimited, and we don’t have a concern about running out of it. Eventually we cross a line in time when our mortality confronts us. We realize we have less time in front of us than behind us. Some call this mid-life crisis. I call it the existential crisis. It is a time to examine the meaning of our life in light of this scarce and valuable commodity we call time. Take time today to reflect with me on your time, so you can use what you have left more wisely.

年轻时，大多数不思考时间的问题。时间看起来是无限的，我们也不担心会用完所有的时间。最终，我们到了面对死亡的时刻。突然意识到前面的时间所剩无几。很多人称之为中年危机。我称之为存在危机。这个时候，在如此稀少并贵重的宝贝--时间面前，我们应当审视一下生命的意义。今天抽出时间来与我一起回顾一下你的时间，以此能够有智慧的分配剩下的时间。

The brevity of life

生命的短暂

The great secret of life discovered after living a lot of it is how fast  life goes. Yet, young life seems to stand still at times. Remember Christmas eve, the longest night of the year when you were a kid. How about waiting to turn sixteen so you could get your driver’s license. Then one day you noticed time began to speed up. At first it wasn’t too bad, but eventually you wanted it to slow down and it wouldn’t. By the time your mortal awareness hit you it actually started to go faster. The sand started flowing through the hourglass taking your life with it no matter how you tried to slow it down.

生活大半辈子发现的最大秘密是知道了时间消逝得如此飞速。当然，年轻人的生活看似止步不前。回想一下，在你儿时的平安夜是一年中最长的一个夜晚。等待到16岁，以期拿到驾照又是何等的漫长。当你意识到时间的时候，它就加速了。一开始并不坏，但最终你希望时间可以停下来，但是不可能。当你意识到死亡的时候，时间就流逝更快了。沙漏里的沙子不停地流下，与此同时带走了你的时间，无论你如何努力都无法让它慢下来。

The Bible teaches us about both the brevity and uncertainty of life:

圣经告诉我们生命的短暂和不确定性：

“Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you.Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath” (Psalm 39:5).

你使我的年日窄如手掌。我一生的年数，在你面前如同无有。各人最稳妥的时候，真是全然虚幻。（诗篇39：5）

“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but
toil and trouble;  they are soon gone and we fly away” (Psalm 90:10).

我们一生的年日是七十岁，若是强壮可到八十岁；但其中所矜夸的不过是劳苦愁烦，转眼成空，我们便如飞而去。（诗篇90:10）

“… yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will do this or that” (James 4:14).

其实明天如何，你们还不知道。你们的生命是什么呢？你们原来是一片云雾，出现少时就不见了。你们只当说：“主若愿意，我们就可以活着，也可以作这事，或作那事。’‘(雅各书 4:14)

Time is our most precious commodity; once spent it is gone forever. The sooner we start to value it the better off we will be. We will no longer waste or “kill time.” Once I understand this truth, how do I maximize time?

时间是我们最宝贵的财富；一旦花费就不复返了。越早珍惜时间，我们就会过得越好。我们将不再浪费或是“打发时间”。一旦我明白了这个真理，当如何将时间最好的利用呢？

Teach us to number our days

指教我们数算自己的日子

The creator of time is God. He made it as a structure for us to live in for a while. There is something beyond time which is called eternity. Eternity is when time will cease. Eternity is where we live our real life forever. Time is where we prepare for eternity. Time is a current reality, something we can experience. Eternity for now is a faith concept, but one day it too will be acurrent reality. To maximize our use of time now we must see it from an eternal perspective. This requires us to look through the eye of faith. God designed everything in creation with purpose including us.

时间的创造者是神。神如同造了一个框架，让我们可以生活一阵子。超越时间的是永生。永生就是时间停止了。永生就是我们的生命持续到永远。在限定的时间里我们要为永生做预备。时间是当前的现实，是我们可以经历的。就目前而言，永生是一个信心里的概念，但是有一天它将成为当前的现实。想要最好的利用我们现在的时间，就要用一个永生的视角来看时间。要求我们透过信心的眼睛来看。神对设计创造的各样事物都有一个目的，包括对我们。

So we must make the same request of God the psalmist did in Psalm 90:12: “Soteach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

所以我们要如同诗人在诗篇90章12节里的一样:“求你指教我们怎样数算自己的日子，好叫我们得着智慧的心。”

He was asking God to teach him how to allot or spend his time wisely.God, being the designer of life, certainly knows how to make it work to achieve our full potential. If we are teachable and humble, God will show us where to spand and where not to spend our time. Everyone is equal when it comes to time. We have 24 hours in a day. We don’t know how many total days we have; only God knows that.

诗人恳求神指教他如何有智慧地分配或是度过自己的时间。神，生命的设计者，当然知道怎样能让我们发挥最大的潜力。如果我们是可教并谦卑的，神就会指引我们在哪里能花时间或是不花时间。时间面前人人平等。每天有24小时。我们不知道我们的寿命是多长，只有神知道。

However, like money, some people spend their time much more wisely than others – you can be one of those people. Just do two things to be one of these wiser people. The first thing is to make spending time with God in his word each day a top priority. He will then show you how to best use the rest of your time. The second thing is to take time to reflect upon how you use time. Indoing so you will eliminate many regrets in your later life.

然而，正如花钱一样，一些人可以把时间安排得比别人有智慧——你可以成为那些人中的一个。只要做两件事，你就可以成为更有智慧的人。第一件事就是每天花时间思考神的话语，并把这件事摆在最优先的位置。神必指引你将如何安排剩下的时间。第二件事就是回顾你度过的时间。如此行会让你在后半生减少很多的后悔。

He has set eternity in our hearts

神将永生安置在世人心里

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart. yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

传道书3章11节说：“神造万物，各按其时成为美好，又将永生安置在世人心里（“永生”原文作“永远”）。”然而神从始至终的作为，人不能参透。

The writer of this book is asking about the meaning of life. He keeps saying life is vanity, empty, meaningless. It is just a series of endless repetitive cycles with nothing new under the sun. What is the point of all we do for we are just going to die and leave everything behind for someone else?We come with nothing and go out the same. Death is the great equalizer. On a human level, this is true and pretty depressing.

写作本书的作者在寻求生命的意义。他不停地说生命是空虚，徒劳，没有意义的。日光之下的事情都是循环反复的。我们活着的意义是什么呢？因为我们都有一死，死之后所有的一切都留给了后人。我们生时一无所有，死时也是两手空空。死亡是很好的均衡器。对人来说，死亡是真实的，也是非常让人沮丧的。

However, God has set eternity in our hearts. Instinctively we know there is something beyond this life. To discover what that is, we must know God.Preferably, we should come to know him in the days of our youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say,”I find no pleasure in them” ).This way we can discover our purpose early in life and live with greater significance. This is what we are designed for. In this way, we live a life of eternal consequence. We leave a spiritual legacy rather than a life of empty regrets.

但是，神将永生安置在我们心里。直觉上我们知道生命的背后还有什么。为了找寻它，我们必须要认识神。更好的是，我们应该在我们年少的时候就认识神（传道书12：1 你趁着年幼，衰败的日子尚未来到，就是你所说，我毫无喜乐的那些年日未曾临近之先，当记念造你的主）。这样的话，我们就能很早知道我们活着的目的，并且过得更加有意义。这是我们被造的目的。如此，我们就过着永恒的生活。我们留下的是精神遗产，而不是空洞的遗憾。

整理：于姊妹